Silver Darkness
by VeryHungryAuthor
Summary: Kagome, woken by Miroku, senses a Shikon shard and runs off to get it, rescuing a small youkai boy in the process. She plans on helping him back to his group, listening to him go on about his wonderful leader, she can't help but be curious.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho**

_A/N: Small touch-ups here and there as I move them from one account to the other._

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

_Summary: _Kagome, woken by Miroku, senses a Shikon shard and runs off to get it, rescuing a small youkai boy in the process. She plans on helping him back to his group, listening to him go on about his group and their wonderful leader, she can't help but be curious.

_**oOo**_

"Kagome-sama, please awaken, I need to speak with you." Miroku whispered fervently while lightly shaking Kagome in her sleeping bag.

"Five more minutes mama..." Kagome slurred in her half-awake state, rolling over and again slipping into unconsciousness.

"_Please _Kagome-sama. I fear that a youkai may be nearby." That got Kagome's attention and she shot up, eyes darting around on alert.

She saw nothing, the wind blew on the trees in the darkness, causing the leaves to dance and rustle, but that was all. Sango was still sleeping and Shippo and Kirara were curled up with each other not too far away. InuYasha was asleep under a nearby tree with Tessaiga in his arms in his human form seeing as how it was the night of the new moon. Nothing was out of the ordinary except for Miroku waking her up either really early in the morning or really late at night.

Just as she opened her mouth to scold Miroku for waking her up for no reason she felt it, the presence of a shard of the Shikon no Tama, with it was a small youkai aura, not very powerful but still strong enough to be sensed. As quietly as she could, she stood up and nodded to Miroku. He rose as well and she whispered, "I'm going to go check it out, it seems really weak and faint. If it comes here then you know I won't be of much help but if it doesn't then know I'll be here before InuYasha wakes up in the morning."

Miroku hesitated and then nodded his acceptance, placing a hand on her shoulder that reassured her. Though he placed another hand elsewhere that told her he had a death wish. Her eye twitched madly as she glared at him and she watched him hastily hold his hands up in front of him as a sign of peace.

She didn't wish to wake up the others so Kagome grabbed her bow and arrows. With her weapons ready, she sent one last glare to Miroku that clearly showed the incident would not be forgotten anytime soon. The trek was quite long and definitely frustrating in the dead of night but she eventually staggered into a clearing where she saw a small shadow lying in the grass. She could feel it. That was where the Shikon shard was and the little shadowy mass that radiated the youkai aura must have been the one she had been sensing.

She approached with caution, slipping out of her shoes and walking stealthily to the youkai in her socks. Just as she was a few steps away from the shard and the youkai, another youkai came into the clearing as well. This one, however, was not small and it's aura was nearly over-whelming Kagome's senses. She stumbled back a step and took in it's appearance.

Veins were popping out of the skin almost violently as muscles bunched and twitched underneath the skin. There were three eyes on it head, two were sewn shut and the third, perched on the forehead, was wide open and unblinking. It's skin was a sallow yellow-green and it was over a foot taller than Kagome. It had sharp nails on each hand, long and jagged that looked like it would hurt like a mother should you be on the receiving end of them. The unblinking eye was staring at her, sending a red glow standing out into the darkness of the night as well as shivers down Kagome's spine.

She stood in a trance, watching as the youkai approached the smaller youkai and the Shikon shard, the glowing red eye still locked on her. Kagome's body would not respond as she screamed inside her mind for her legs to move, for her to run and protect the Shikon and, oddly enough, the smaller youkai. The large youkai lifted it's arm and was bringing it down in a deadly arc, swinging at the small shadowed figure and Kagome's mind finally seemed to snap out of it's haze.

Before she knew what she was doing, Kagome had thrown herself in front of the small youkai and felt the ragged claws dig through her shirt and into the skin of her back. A quiet scream escaped her but she turned around and readied an arrow, aiming at the chest of the large youkai. She released it and it hit its target with a dull thud, disintegrating the front of the youkai.

However, because the demon was so thick-skinned, the arrow only melted away the flesh and some of the bone, leaving the organs visible to the naked eye and giving poor Kagome a nice view. She nearly threw up right then and there, and was pushed even further down that road when the youkai lifted it's arm again and the organs seemed to lurch upward with the motion. Before it could bring it's claws down, Kagome fired another arrow, straight into the red and unblinking eye. The youkai howled in pain and rage and blindly attacked her.

She grabbed one of her arrows and dropped her bow, running up to the youkai and piercing it's heart. She swore that her hand had brushed against it's lungs and again, she nearly hurled. Her power was fed through the arrow and into the youkai's heart, purifying it until it was no more. Kagome fell to her knees for a brief moment and vomited, from the searing pain in her back, from the horrible aura, from the smell of burnt flesh and from the sight of all those moving organs.

When she finished, she stood and wiped her mouth, her movements jerky because of her injury. She gathered her arrows and situated the satchel on her back once again while she held her bow in one hand. Then she finally approached the small youkai and realized, shocked, that it was nothing more than a small child. The little youkai boy was injured as well and was practically lying face down in a puddle of blood; fist closed tightly around a shard of the Shikon no Tama.

Kagome, though badly injured and terribly exhausted, hefted the small boy up onto her back and, wincing with every step, made her way back to camp while the early light of morning was just appearing on the horizon. The sun had already risen when she was safely on the edge of her camp. She dropped to her knees and slid the youkai boy off of her back with a hiss. Miroku rushed over with Kagome's first aide kit in his hands and knelt beside the two.

"What happened, Kagome-sama? At first there was only this child's aura and then I felt the aura of another demon, I prayed to all the Kami that you would return safely." Miroku whispered, frequently glancing over at the sleeping hanyou.

Kagome took the medical kit from Miroku and set to cleaning and bandaging the small youkai's injuries while replying, "I was just about to check out this little youkai when, out of trees come this huge youkai with a terrible aura. It literally made me sick!"

Miroku shook his head grimly, "That is not good Kagome-sama, is that how you obtained those injuries on your back?"

"Yeah, I kind of jumped in front of this little guy when the other youkai went to attack him. It was strange," Kagome continued, her eyes narrowing a little as she spoke, "the youkai had this large glowing red eye on it's forehead that kept staring at me. For a little while I couldn't move because I kept staring at it then, when it was going to attack this boy here, I sort of snapped out of it and jumped in between the two", A small blush appearing on her face.

"That was a very noble thing you did Kagome-sama, you could have easily died." Miroku praised, glancing once more over to the hanyou to see his little white ears twitch as he was starting to wake up.

Kagome looked over as well and her eyes widened fearfully, "I'm going to get it now…" She whispered, her voice almost shaking. Her hands tied off the knot on the boy's final bandage and she dropped them into her lap.

"Miroku? Would you mind patching my back up, I can't quite do that on my own." She blushed again, hoping the Houshi would keep his hands to himself.

"I would be honored Kagome-sama, first I must fetch some fresh water to cleanse your wounds with." He rose and grabbed a bowl and headed in the direction of the stream nearby.

While he was off getting water, the little youkai was waking up and blinked his eyes lazily as he stared up at her. She smiled down at him gently and he started to smile back before he froze.

"Where am I? Who are you?" He questioned rather loudly, waking InuYasha up completely from his half-doze.

That was when the shit hit the fan. InuYasha started yelling and pulled out Tessaiga, which woke up the others. Sango pulled out her Hiraikotsu and Shippo let out a shout as Kirara changed without warning right underneath him. Miroku came running back with the bowl of water, while the little youkai boy started to cry. Kagome was trying to sooth him while InuYasha was screaming at Kagome to get away from him because he was a demon.

"InuYasha…SIT BOY!" Kagome shouted, enjoying the brief moment of peace she got because InuYasha's voice was muffled by the dirt.

"Now," she said calmly, "if you will all calm down for just a minute, Miroku and I can explain everything and there will be no more need for pointless shouting."

Sango eyed the small boy warily before sitting down, her hand readied just in case she need to snatch up Hiraikotsu or her katana. Kirara shrank back down and Shippo sat down next to her while Miroku knelt behind Kagome and peeled the tattered parts of her shirt away from her injuries and began to clean them. InuYasha finally was able to sit back up and sniffed the air, eyes widening slightly.

"Why are you bleeding wench?" He demanded, eyes narrowing at her.

"I'll explain that when I explain everything else, if you'll just have a seat." Kagome said, struggling not to lose her temper.

He "Feh"-ed and dropped to the ground, nose in the air as he faced away from her. Kagome closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten, calming herself as she ran her fingers through the little boy's black hair.

"Alright," Kagome let out a hiss as Miroku hit a particularly tender spot, "while everyone was sleeping, Miroku woke me up and told me that he sensed a youkai aura. At first I didn't sense anything but then I did. It was a small aura, not very powerful and seemed to be sort of faint, so I went off after it."

"Baka! You could have gotten yourself killed!" InuYasha yelled, interrupting her.

"Shush InuYasha or I'll use the 'S-I-T' word!" Kagome said in a singsong voice before continuing, "Anyways, in a clearing there this little guy was unconscious. Just as I was getting close to him this other youkai came out of the trees. It was ugly and it's aura made me feel ill. I killed it and brought our new little friend back with me to camp."

"Kagome-chan, if that's all that happened, then how did you get injured?" Sango questioned, head tilted to the side in slight confusion.

"Oh! Umm…" Kagome blushed, feeling slightly stupid, "I sort of…jumped in front of the little boy when the other youkai attacked…" She let out a nervous chuckle and looked down at the top of the little boy's head. She noted that his fist was still tightly clenched around the Shikon shard.

"WHAT?" InuYasha shouted, jumping to his feet and glaring at her with all his might, wanting nothing more than to strangle some sense in the baka-onna before him.

"InuYasha," Miroku said calmly from behind Kagome, never looking up from bandaging her wounds, "Kagome-sama did something very brave and noble today, do not belittle her for it."

Sango, InuYasha and Shippo all gaped at Miroku. They had almost forgotten he was there, and what he said kind of struck a cord in everyone. Suddenly, Sango leapt up and started to stalk toward the Houshi.

"Get away from my friend you hentai!" She shouted, hand reaching back for the Hiraikotsu.

"Sango-chan, please, he's only patching me up, although…" Kagome gave Sango a smirk and reached upward and grabbed the Hiraikotsu, bringing it down behind her onto Miroku's head. Luckily he had just finished up her bandage job.

"That's for earlier you hentai!" Kagome shouted, face red.

The little boy let out a small chuckle in her lap and was looking up at her with beautiful green eyes. Kagome smiled down at him.

"Now, would you mind telling me your name little one?" She asked softly, eyes never leaving his.

"I-I'm Kiro." He whispered.

Kagome's smile got bigger and she asked, "What were you doing out there all alone?"

He hesitated for a minute but then he realized that he knew he could trust her and answered, "I was training with some of my group and wandered off a little. I got lost and couldn't track their scent and got attacked by some mean youkai but look what took from them!" He opened his clenched fist and showed her the Shikon shard he had.

"Oi brat! That's a Shikon no Kakera, hand it over before I cut your hand off!" InuYasha threatened, angering Kagome and frightening Kiro.

"InuYasha! Don't say things like that! Don't be so hot-headed!" Kagome gave him a look that scared him out of his wits and then looked down at Kiro, "Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you."

Kiro shakily smiled back up at her and leaned back in her lap, "I can't wait to show this shard to my group leader, he's going to be so proud."

Kagome chuckled, "You'll have to tell me more about him and your group while we travel. You're going to have to travel with us and we'll look for your group while we go about what we normally do."

"Okay!" He chirped then tried to stand, failing miserably and falling back into her lap.

"But for today…we're going to rest." Kagome gave InuYasha a pointed look as he opened his mouth that spelled 'S-I-T' and he quickly shut it.

_**oOo**_

"…and I'm working really hard and my leader told me that I'm really improving!" Kiro stated enthusiastically.

"Really? That's great!" Sango said encouragingly, though she had no idea what he was improving at.

Kiro nodded and beamed, "Yup! And now that I got this shard he's _really _going to be proud of me!"

Sango and Kagome gave little chuckles at how cute Kiro was and Shippo, perched on Kagome's shoulder, was investigating Kiro's scent. It was very familiar to him, almost like flowers and leaves. He took in his appearance, his kitsune curiosity getting the best of him. _Kitsune…_that was it! Kiro was another kitsune! Shippo leapt off of Kagome's shoulder and did a happy little dance of excitement, stopping the group in their tracks with confused looks of their faces.

"Hey Shippo, are you all right?" Kagome asked, concerned about her little kit.

Shippo snapped out of his little dance of happy excitement and exclaimed, "Kiro is a kitsune like me!"

Kagome, a little surprised and taken aback, turned slightly widened eyes to Kiro and asked, "Is that so?"

"Mmm-hmm!" Kiro responded, nodding vigorously.

"Well…" Kagome paused, "That's great, now Shippo can have another kitsune to play with!"

She held both of their hands as they walked, teaching them a nursery rhyme to pass the time.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho**

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

_Summary: _Kagome, woken by Miroku, senses a Shikon shard and runs off to get it, rescuing a small youkai boy in the process. She plans on helping him back to his group, listening to him go on about his group and their wonderful leader, she can't help but be curious.

_**oOo**_

_2 weeks later…_

The group was trudging on, feet dragging, as the sun was setting on the horizon. Sango was carrying Kirara, who had fallen asleep after their long day, and was very nearly tempted to lean on Miroku. Kagome was toting two sleeping kitsune children, one on her back and another in her arms and it was safe to say that she was _beat_.

"InuYasha?" Kagome began to inquire, her voice revealing just how tired she was.

"Can we stop now?"

"No way wench! We've gotta find the rest of the Shikon no Kakera before Naraku gets his filthy hands on them!" He shouted in response, unknowingly pushing Kagome over the edge that she had been teetering on.

"SIT! Now we have to stop." She said smugly, easing herself down the grass and adjusting the positions of the cute little kitsune in her arms.

"Thank you Kagome-sama, I fear that Sango-chan and I were feeling quite tired as well." Miroku said gratefully, dropping to the ground in a rather un-monk-like manner.

Kagome nodded over to him and gave him a brilliant smile before gently laying Shippo on the ground. Showing signs of flexibility that no one though she could possess, Kagome maneuvered little Kiro off of her back and laid him down as well. She quietly slipped away from the kids to grab her backpack from the hanyou-shaped hole in the ground, producing from it her sleeping bag.

Too tired to do anything more for the evening, Kagome unrolled her sleeping bag, slipped off her shoes and tucked herself, Shippo and Kiro in for the night. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't going to be sleeping long before someone woke her up.

"No…I don't wanna be alone…" A small voice whimpered close to Kagome's ear, waking her up from her rather comfortable sleep.

Half-awake, Kagome reached out and stroked Kiro's hair softly, murmuring words of comfort to him. Gently she pulled his small frame closer to herself, snuggling him to her chest and lazily dragging her fingers through his hair. Not one to forget about someone, even half-asleep, Kagome used her other hand to finger-brush Shippo's tail. Needless to say Kagome fell back asleep soon after, in a rather awkward position in her sleeping bag.

InuYasha had seen the interaction, and let out a sigh that he didn't know he had in him. It hurt him a little, the fact that Kagome was so much like a mother to the two kitsune boys, acting as if it was the most natural thing in the world. No one had treated him like that after his mother had died. Sometimes he wished that Kagome had been around then, maybe she would have taken him in and he wouldn't have turned out the way he had. Kikyo had been the only one besides his mother to show him such care, he owed her so much.

'_She deserves whatever she asks of me; after I avenge her I will follow her to Hell. That is the least I can do. I'm sorry Kagome.'_

He watched Kagome sleep, a small smile playing on her face as one of Kiro's ears twitched and tickled her slightly. InuYasha knew that he would miss moments like these, watching her be so relaxed. It was true that he cared for her quite a lot; one could say that he loved her, but he had loved Kikyo first. InuYasha was honorable, though his sense of honor may be a little screwed up, and he was obligated to stay with Kikyo. He did still love her, he knew that the Kikyo he had fallen in love with still existed, just remained buried in her make-shift body.

Tearing his eyes from Kagome, InuYasha looked off into the woods, keeping his senses on high-alert. It wouldn't do to get all nostalgic and be caught off-guard. But sometimes he wondered…could it be possible to bring Kikyo back? It was something that InuYasha really wished for, with all of his might; it would make things so much easier. He and Kikyo could have the life that he dreamed of and he would still be around to watch over Kagome should she choose to stay in the Sengoku Jidai. But that was merely a wish and nothing more.

But, oh, how he wished it…

_**oOo**_

"Alright! Get up you lazy humans! The sun's done risen!" InuYasha bellowed as he dropped from his tree and starting kicking the nearest person, who just happened to be Miroku.

Miroku let out a yelp of protest and jumped his feet, much to the satisfaction of one inu-hanyou. He moved on to Kagome, a devious smirk on his face as he prepared to _nudge _her awake with his foot. Just as he was about to make contact, a half-muffled voice stopped him.

"Don't you dare or I SWEAR I will say _'it'_ so much that you won't be able to move for a week."

InuYasha's ears drooped and he stepped away, knowing that she would make good on that promise. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to get her up.

"Wench! It's time to get up NOW! Dammit, there's a stream nearby and I'm not afraid to drop you in it!" Everyone knew that he would do it and that left Kagome with no choice but to get out of the sleeping bag.

"Alright, alright, grouchy hanyou. Come on Shippo, Kiro, time to get up!" Kagome chirped, gently shaking the shoulders of each kit.

Shippo rubbed his eyes as he sat up, blinking sleepily at his surrogate mother before turning a glare on InuYasha for waking them up. Kiro, on the other hand, was up like a shot. One moment he was lying down and the next he was on his feet beside Kagome. Of course none were surprised by this; he had done it every morning for the past two weeks now.

"When are you going to teach me how to do that Kiro?" Shippo asked excitedly, the last of his sleepiness gone in an instant.

All the adults were up and about now, setting up a fire for Ramen and getting prepared for the day, leaving the two children with Kirara on the edge of the clearing they had camped in.

"I don't know if I'm allowed. My leader might not like me teaching his tricks to others."

"Who's your leader?" Shippo inquired, his kitsune curiosity getting the best of him.

Kiro seemed to hesitate before he leaned in and whispered, "Youko Kurama."

Shippo let out an amazed gasp, "No way!"

Kiro nodded, trying his hardest to suppress a cocky smile. He was proud of the fact that Youko had trusted him enough to take him in and teach him things. But he had to be a good little student and learn but never speak of whatever knowledge he acquired to anyone. But Shippo was another kitsune, and an orphan too. Maybe Youko would take him in and teach him things too. Kiro voiced his last thought aloud.

"Maybe, when we find him, he'll bring you with us!"

"Yeah! That'd be great!" Shippo exclaimed, suddenly very happy. But then he wasn't quite so happy anymore.

"But I can't leave Kagome here…she's like a mom to me!" Suddenly he was opposed to the idea, he couldn't see himself leaving Kagome.

Kiro pondered that for a minute, little hand propping up his chin as he thought hard on the predicament. Youko wasn't known for his fascination with ningen, but then again, he didn't hate them either. It was more of a…lack of interest. They weren't really appealing and lived such monotonous lives compared to his own that he never really gave them a second thought. This really bothered Kiro. It didn't used to, but he had really grown to like Kagome over the time he spent with the little group, and she was anything but uninteresting.

"Oh…I don't know what to do!" He groaned, dropping onto his butt in the grass in frustration.

"Does Youko hate ningen?" Shippo asked as he plopped down next to his kitsune buddy.

"Not really…but he doesn't exactly love them either."

Shippo pouted in a cute manner, that hadn't been the answer he wanted.

"Well I won't leave Kagome, no matter how great Youko is!" Shippo said, though he really wished there was a way he could stay with Kagome AND go with Youko.

Kiro was very disappointed, there weren't many other kitsune his age in Youko's little band and Shippo was a lot of fun. But it wasn't like he could just drag the other kitsune off with him, especially not when he knew just how sad Kagome would be.

"Oh." Kiro lowered his eyes to the ground, sad.

Shippo didn't like seeing his new friend sad so he said, "But Kagome's really nice so maybe she'll let us visit each other!"

"Yeah!" Kiro was instantly happy again.

"Shippo! Kiro! Do you want to come take a bath with me and Sango-chan?" Kagome called from the other side of camp, looking at both the little boys with a smile on her face.

They looked at each other before leaping up and racing toward Kagome and Sango. Shippo wondered if Kagome had brought some of those "bath toys" from her time, they were a lot of fun! Imagine his delight when he saw a few new toys along with the old ones she had brought.

"Now, you two share those toys, I don't want to have to take them from you, alright?" Kagome warned.

"Okay!" "Alright Kagome." They responded before stripping off their clothes and leaping into the hotsprings, toys in hand.

_**oOo**_

"Kagome! _Move!_" InuYasha shouted as he fought against a new youkai.

Looking around herself, Kagome noted that a few of the youkai's underlings were closing in on her from all sides. She shot a purification arrow that cleared a path for her to get away and headed in the direction of Shippo and Kiro.

"Eeeeeeeeee!" Shippo squealed as he was chased in circles by a rather ugly little youkai.

Kiro, on the other hand, was trying to help Shippo and was chasing the youkai. The youkai turned abruptly and went for Kiro who leapt over its head. He grabbed Shippo's hand and they ran together and climbed onto Kagome who had just arrived. She easily disposed of the youkai and then carted the kids off to just inside of the forest.

"Stay right here and don't move until I come get you, okay?" Kagome panted. Come on, carrying two children after exhausting herself using her miko powers was hard on a girl!

Both the kids nodded, staring wide-eyed as she ran back into the heat of battle. They were in awe of her determination to protect her friends at all costs; she was just so wonderful in their eyes.

She shot an arrow into the heart of a youkai coming up behind InuYasha before joining him to combine their efforts to destroy the leader. InuYasha used his Kaze no Kizu on the giant youkai while Kagome destroyed the smaller ones that got too close. After the youkai was in plenty of large pieces scattered on the ground, Kagome jogged over to the Shikon no Kakera hidden in what seemed to be the youkai's stomach.

Kagome shuddered as she approached the next shard, not entirely sure if the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach was from her hand having been inside another's stomach or if it was just an ominous feeling. As she bent over to pick the Shikon no Kakera out of the hand that lay on the ground, her sick feeling increased. She moved away from the hand, but not fast enough, seeing as it had plunged itself into her arm.

She screamed and grabbed at the hand, fumbling for the shard that would, once removed, stop all movement of the hand. It was digging further and further into her arm and Kagome was biting her tongue to the point of blood to make sure she didn't scream. She quickly removed the shard and then fell over in a dead faint.

Shippo and Kiro came speeding out of the woods, crying Kagome's name. InuYasha had already gathered her up in his arms, impatiently waiting for Miroku to finish checking the injury.

"We should get her back to Kaede's, so that she can heal her." Sango said from over Miroku's shoulder, looking worriedly at her friend.

Miroku nodded in agreement and InuYasha got ready to take off.

"WAIT!" Shippo and Kiro shouted in unison, their little faces filled with concern.

"We wanna come with you! To make sure that Kagome's okay." Shippo declared bravely, watching InuYasha scowl at his statement.

Just as InuYasha was about to tell them to bug off, Sango smiled softly and nodded her consent.

"Of course, she'll need you two to protect her." Miroku said with a small smile on his face as well.

Both little kitsune puffed out their chests and hopped onto InuYasha's shoulder and his back. InuYasha's scowl only deepened, not that anyone paid it any mind.

"Go ahead of us InuYasha, we'll meet up with you at Kaede's." Miroku stated as he began to gather their things up.

"Feh, like I was waiting for your permission." He sneered before leaping away.

Shippo and Kiro were uncharacteristically quiet on the journey to Kaede's, which made the trip rather uncomfortable for all involved, even Kagome. Although, she was already uncomfortable seeing as she was bleeding all over the place. Luckily, the trip didn't take long, they had been heading back to the village anyways because Kagome was demanding to go home.

"What has happened to Kagome, child?" Kaede inquired of InuYasha as soon as he came through the door.

At first he hesitated, feeling a little guilty that she had gotten hurt with him so close, but then he answered:

"The wench got herself attacked by a youkai!" InuYasha had a strange way of expressing how he felt.

"You should have been protecting her, baka hanyou!" Shippo shouted, gnawing on InuYasha's ears, knowing that he couldn't do anything with Kagome in his arms.

InuYasha all but threw Kagome down onto the mat on the ground, receiving a pained moan from the poor young miko. He ignored that and went after Shippo, chasing the little kitsune off into the forest.

Kaede shook her head and clucked in disapproval before setting about patching up Kagome's injury. It seemed that there was a small bit of poison in the wound, so it would take a little while longer for her to heal. Kiro sat, ever faithful, by Kagome's side as Kaede worked on her, watching in fascination at everything the old woman did.

"It seems that the group has picked up another traveler, eh? And how did you come to join them, little one?" Kaede questioned as she put the finishing touches on Kagome's bandages.

"I got lost, Kagome is helping my find my leader." Kiro answered truthfully.

"Well, Kiro, will ye sit with Kagome-san while I go out to collect some herbs?" Kaede smiled at the sudden excitement that came over the boy's features.

"Of course!"

"Thank ye very much, child." Kaede said, leaving her hut.

Kiro sat for what seemed like hours, while it was only about half an hour, watching Kagome sleep and wondering when Shippo and InuYasha would be back. It was hard for him to sit and do nothing, being a young and active kitsune, but Kiro wasn't one to give up. Finally, Kagome woke up, a confused and slightly pained expression on her face.

"Kiro? Where am I?" Kagome asked, pushing her upper body off of the floor with her one good arm.

"InuYasha brought you to a village, where this nice old miko fixed you. I don't know her name though." Kiro couldn't keep the joy off his face, no matter how hard he tried. Kagome was awake now and he wouldn't be bored anymore!

"Oh, I guess I'm in Kaede's hut then. Well Kiro, thanks for keeping me company!" She attempted to get to her feet but she could quite get up with only one arm handy.

"Oof! I guess I'm stuck here for a little while longer. Hey, where'd InuYasha go?"

Kiro pouted and said, "He chased Shippo outside, I haven't seen either of them since we got here."

"Well! When he gets back we're going to have a serious talk. How could he just leave you here, knowing that you didn't know anyone?"

They both sat in silence after that, neither knowing quite what to say, but the silence finally proved too much for them so Kagome broke it.

"Hey Kiro? Why don't you tell me more about this leader of yours? He sounds like a great guy."

Kiro smiled and began, "Well…"

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho**

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

_Summary: _Kagome, woken by Miroku, senses a Shikon shard and runs off to get it, rescuing a small youkai boy in the process. She plans on helping him back to his group, listening to him go on about his group and their wonderful leader, she can't help but be curious.

_**oOo**_

"…_I gotta have a minute to think. There are lots of great stories to tell about him and all."_

_Kagome smiled, "Take your time, I have a feeling that I'll be here for a little while yet."_

_**oOo**_

Youko stood before a small line-up, eyes hard with anger. Three youkai stood before him, one cowering in fear and the other two standing as impassively as they could when face to face with the likes of Youko Kurama.

"_Who_ is responsible for this?" He demanded in a frighteningly cool manner.

None dared to answer. To be honest, all three of them were at fault, not one of them had thought to keep an eye on the little orphan brat that Youko had taken in, and they didn't believe him to be worth the effort.

"Come on now," Youko's partner, Kuronue, drawled, "I don't think I heard an answer, did you Youko?"

Youko didn't spare his partner a single glance, only narrowed his eyes at the trio before him, "No, I did not."

As he looked them over, Youko saw one of them _smirking _at him. With a single flick of his wrist, the foolish little youkai was in pieces at Youko's feet. A whimper was heard from the only one that seemed to have the sense to fear him, while the other was staring wide-eyed at the pile that used to be his companion.

"I still have yet to here an answer…" Youko trailed off, giving either of them an opportunity to respond.

There was no doubt in his mind, Youko knew that he would kill them both, answer or not. But he would certainly prefer an answer. He walked a few paces over and stood beside Kuronue, who was smiling a small smile that about scared the pants off the youkai whose knees were already knocking.

Kuronue, amused by the fear that he instilled in the frightened man, began to _nonchalantly _swing his pendent, listening to the whistling noise that he found quite beautiful. That was all it took. The youkai that Kuronue had been teasing dropped to the ground in a dead faint. While Kuronue was chuckling, Youko was glaring at the stone-still youkai before him.

"I do believe that your time is up. I will, however, give you a final chance…" Youko said with a growl, readying his rose whip.

Seeming to snap out of his shock at Youko's warning, the last standing youkai began to tell all. Hell, he even came out and told them that he was gay right then and there. He began crying halfway through and was on his knees begging to be spared by the end. Youko's eyes grew darker and darker with anger as each word spilled forth from the pitiful excuse for a youkai before him. Without a second thought, he removed the young man's head from his shoulders.

"Kuronue. Take care of the other one; I am going to look for the kit." Youko ordered before taking off into the forest.

It was unfortunate that he had required all his recruits to mask their scents wherever they went _(to prevent being followed and to hide any association with him)_ because he would have a hell of a time trying to find where they all had gone. Cursing his genius, Youko leapt from tree to tree attempting to find the faintest scent of any of the four that had gone out that day. He searched even after the sun set and had begun to rise again before he met up with Kuronue.

_**oOo**_

"_Kiro" Kagome whined, growing frustrated with the kit that just seemed far too hard a thinker, "You're taking foreverrrrr!"_

"_Okay, okay, okay! I got a good one! So, once, Youko- that's his name, but don't tell anyone, 'kay?- went out with Kuronue- that's his partner and best mate, you see- on a job that he said was too dangerous for anybody else."_

_**oOo**_

"Hurry up Kuronue!" Youko demanded as he sped through the forest, unhappy with the way that his partner was lagging.

"Seriously Youko, it's been six days, do you really think that the little squirt is still alive?" Kuronue asked, a little put off by the odd display of desperation he was seeing in his friend.

"Do not insult me by doubting my senses _or _my instinct. I know that this kit is alive because _I _had trained him and because I have caught scent of his blood. It is old but it is his." Youko declared as he gave the bat youkai beside him a frown, "Can you not smell it?"

Kuronue took a sniff but, being he was a bat youkai, his sense of smell was not quite as developed as Youko's.

"No, I cannot, but I will trust that you can. Now, lead the way so we can get this over with."

The two landed in the clearing where the grass was still stained with blood and, oddly enough, ash. Kuronue headed to the ash, since that was the first thing to catch his attention, and left Youko to examine the bloodstains and determine which direction Kiro went in. If he hadn't been killed in this very clearing, that is.

"Three have had blood spilt here, all in the same evening. Kiro was one…another, more powerful youkai and…a miko?"

For a brief moment, Youko felt panic and fear, unsure if Kiro had escaped the clutches of the miko and evaded purification. Calming down, he followed the scent of Kiro's blood to a large stain in the clearing where he found two scents to be distinctly mixed. Kiro's and the miko's. The ashes appeared to be the remains of the other youkai, but still left the question of what happened to Kiro. The miko hadn't purified him _(there only seemed to be the ashy remnants of one youkai)_, so what _had _she done with him?

"Hey, Youko, c'mere. Look at this." Kuronue called from his crouched position beside the smear of youkai ash.

His mind going a mile a minute, Youko almost absently found his way over to where Kuronue was. Kuronue was holding something that he obviously found enamoring in some way, you could tell by the smirk on his face.

"Check this out, its part of an arrow. A miko's arrow." Kuronue's smirk suddenly faded into a deep frown, "Wait, you don't think…"

Youko shook his head, "No. But I did notice that both the miko's scent and Kiro's scent lead away together. I am curious as to why a miko would willingly take a youkai with her."

Kuronue's frown deepened, "What if she knew that he was connected with you somehow? And she had taken him to lure you out in the open so that she may purify you."

"Well then," Youko took the broken arrow from Kuronue and spun it around, taking in the scent of the owner of the arrow, "I do believe that she does not know what she is getting herself into."

_**oOo**_

"_He was leaving to retrieve a very powerful, ancient artifact to add to his…_collection._ He and Kuronue spent _weeks _studying barriers and protections spells in preparation for the job. Kuronue was a little doubtful that they could pull it off…and Kuronue is Youko's number one back-up guy!" Kiro said in an amazed voice, his eyes wide as he threw his hands up in the air in disbelief._

_Kagome gave a giggle and nodded, encouraging Kiro to continue with his tale, though the gears were grinding inside her head. She was uncertain as to what this Youko character did for a living. He could just be innocently collecting items from willing donators…__**or**__ he could be stealing the items. While Kagome was a miko, one who was not supposed to condone any sort of wrong-doing, she hadn't been raised as a miko. When she was younger, about 13 or 14 years old, she had gone through a rebel streak. She made changes to her school uniform, hung out with a rather bad crowd, smoked once (don't tell Mama that, though) and had done a little thieving._

_She had stolen small things, never anything expensive, makeup and cheap jewelry. It didn't matter what she stole, the rush that she got from the act was amazing! Of course, she didn't steal now, she was caught by her mother and, needless to say, the scolding she got was enough to make her stop, not to mention the grounding._

_Oh dear, she had completely zoned out! Kagome tried hard to remember what Kiro had been saying while she had be reminiscing._

_**oOo**_

Naraku stood before the bat youkai he had _'come across'_, smirking behind his baboon pelt in victory. He had sent Kagura out to injury him so that he may put his plan into action, this time he would put an end to InuYasha and the miko. He removed the hood and crouched down in front of him with a fake look of concern.

"Are you alright?" He asked, watching the youkai focus his attention on him.

"I am fine. Who are you?" Kuronue asked, immediately suspicious of the hanyou before him.

"Forgive me. My name is Naraku, one who has information that may be valuable to you and your partner." He bowed his head.

Kuronue's eyes narrowed, "And what do _you _know of me _or _my partner?"

"I hear of many things as I venture about the land, such as your quest to find a young kitsune. You already know that he is with a miko, do you not?"

"Yes…" Kuronue was still wary of Naraku, but he was forth-coming with what might be important information, so he would live for now.

"This miko goes by the name of Kagome and is quite a powerful young woman. She travels in a group that goes about slaying demons and the word has been that she is looking to hunt down the infamous Youko Kurama. Only ten days ago did she come across a kit that she found to be associated with Youko Kurama and she took it amongst her group to lure him out. This Kagome is not one to be taken lightly; she and her group are widely known for their power."

"Where can I find this miko?" Kuronue asked as he stood, not even flinching at the pain that shot through his injured leg.

Naraku gave a predatory grin, "She is headed north."

Kuronue gave him a cold stare, "As thanks for your useful information I will allow you to live."

Naraku only nodded, putting his hood back up upon his head and leaping off into the trees. Kuronue sensed Youko's approach and waited for him to show up, which didn't take long at all.

"Where have you been Kuronue? I get ahead of you for a mere moment and you disappear for two days! And what in the Hell happened to your leg?" Youko inquired, aggravated.

"I was caught off-guard by a wind sorceress while you were ahead of me for _'a mere moment_.' I could not walk, seeing as I needed to heal, and I suspected that you would notice that I was missing long before you actually _did_." Kuronue was rather upset at being forgotten by his partner.

"I apologize, my friend, for not realizing your absence." Youko bowed deeply to Kuronue.

"Ah, I suppose it was not all for the worst, it seems that we now have a lead to Kiro."

Youko's eyes lit up, "Oh really?"

"Yes. It seems that a hanyou by the name of Naraku is quite full of information and had heard talk of a powerful miko who is holding a kit in hopes of coming across you, my dear friend." Kuronue said with a grin.

"Well, lead the way Kuronue, we shan't keep Kiro waiting for much longer."

"Indeed."

_**oOo**_

"_When they finally stopped studying and went to the site where the artifact was supposed to be…" Kiro paused for dramatic effect, "it wasn't there!"_

_Kagome leaned forward a little, "Then where was it?"_

"_They didn't know! They searched the entire area a bazillion times but they couldn't find any clue as to where it had gone! But then-"_

"_Hey! Kagome! You're awake! And what's going on? Are you telling a story, Kiro?" Shippo said excitedly, hopping over to sit next to Kiro on the floor._

"_As a matter of fact, Kiro is telling a story about Youko, his leader, and you interrupted at a very good part." Kagome explained, smiling at the two._

"_Hey, I thought you weren't supposed to tell anybody that Youko was your leader!" Shippo exclaimed, looking between Kagome and Kiro worriedly._

_Kiro smiled, "I trust Kagome to keep it a secret. Hey, wait a minute, where's InuYasha at?"_

_Shippo smiled wide, "I multiplied myself and sent my copies in different directions so I could come back here. He's probably still chasing one or two of me!"_

"_I'm so proud of you!" Kagome cooed, watching Shippo glow with pride, "Now, let's get back to that story."_

"_Okay! So, Youko and Kuronue went out on a job and they couldn't find the artifact they were looking for." Kiro explained, getting Shippo up to speed, "They looked everywhere but they couldn't find a single clue as to where it was. But then…"_

_**oOo**_

It had now been exactly two weeks since Kiro had disappeared and Youko and Kuronue hadn't been any closer to finding him than they had in that moment. Even Kuronue could smell Kiro. He did not smell sick, merely frightened, but that could have been because of the youkai that seemed to be in the same vicinity as the miko and her group.

Picking up speed, Youko and Kuronue decided that it would be in their best interest to interrupt the battle that was going on and retrieve Kiro then. That would give the miko less of a chance to attack either of them. Unfortunately, it seemed that the miko had already left with Kiro as well as the other kit and the inu-hanyou she traveled with. However, the demon-slayer and the monk had stayed behind which meant that they could interrogate them and use them as leverage to get Kiro back.

Stepping from the shadows of the trees, Kuronue and Youko stood facing the pair that were already prepared for their entrance.

"Excuse me," Youko said in a cold tone, his eyes hard, "we do believe that there is much we need to discuss."

He pulled out his rose whip while Kuronue began to casually swing his pendant, all four looking prepared to face off.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho**

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

_Summary: _Kagome, woken by Miroku, senses a Shikon shard and runs off to get it, rescuing a small youkai boy in the process. She plans on helping him back to his group, listening to him go on about his group and their wonderful leader, she can't help but be curious.

_**oOo**_

"…_Kuronue ran right into this camouflaged barrier and set off all of these alarms!"_

_**oOo**_

"And just what is it that we have to discuss?" Miroku asked calmly, shifting his footing slightly.

Sango was uneasy. These two youkai were cool and collected and, from the looks of it, highly intelligent. They were exactly the type that was known for their power and she could practically taste theirs.

Kuronue gave a smirk, flashing a fang, "You associate with the miko, Kagome, do you not?"

Immediately Sango and Miroku stiffened. What did these youkai want with Kagome? Certainly, they had never encountered each other before, and Kagome was kind to everyone so she couldn't have wronged either of these youkai.

"What is it that you want with Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked, monitoring Sango out of the corner of his eye, hoping that she didn't start attacking blindly.

Youko's eyes hardened, "She has stolen something from me and I intend to retrieve it."

"Who the Hell are you to claim something like that?" Sango exploded, a fire behind her eyes promising death, "Kagome has _never _stolen from _anyone_! She isn't the type of person to do anything of the sort! I should kill you for even suggesting that!"

Just as she was about to give her hiraikotsu a toss, Miroku settled a hand upon her shoulder, "Sango, perhaps this has only been a misunderstanding, we should allow them to explain."

Sango gave a frustrated growl and then sighed, "Dammit Miroku, why do you have to make such sense? Can't we ever just fight?"

Miroku gave a tiny smile, "I apologize, dear Sango, next time I will allow you to throw yourself in harm's way foolishly."

"Hmph." Sango turned her unhappy face back toward her opponents who seemed rather aggravated at being ignored, "So? Are you going to explain?"

Kuronue, in a moment of sheer maturity-weakness, stuck his tongue out and gave a snide, "No."

Sango looked at him incredulously while Youko said, "I do believe what my partner means to say is that we'd much rather talk with _Kagome-sama_ ourselves."

"No! You were going to attack us and probably Kagome too if she were here, why would we take you to her?"

Miroku took a step forward, "Sango, we both know for certain that Kagome did _not _do anything to harm these two youkai and once they figure that out, do you really think they will still attack her? You both seem like reasonable youkai; would you truly attack an innocent miko?"

"Should we find out that we have been misinformed, we will gladly be on our way." Youko agreed, though he doubted that he would be proven wrong in this.

"Then shall we go?"

_**oOo**_

"_They had to fight their way through __**hundreds **__of guards, they could've died! But they're way too powerful to be killed by such lowly youkai, or so Youko said."_

_Shippo was staring at Kiro in awe, enthralled by his tale, which Kagome was certain he was exaggerating on just a wee bit._

"_So," Kagome decided to ask a question that may or may not upset Kiro, but she just had to know, "are Youko-sama and Kuronue-sama thieves?"_

_Both the kits in the room gaped out her, unsure of what to say. Of course, Shippo and Kiro _knew _they were thieves, but what would Kagome say if she knew? Would she try to keep Kiro from going back to Youko?_

"_Uhm…"_

"_You can tell me, I promise I won't get upset." Kagome reassured, sensing their unease._

"_Y-yeah. They are…" Kiro stuttered out, worried about her reaction._

"_Oh. Okay then, how about you finish up the story now?" Kagome said, unfazed by his answer. Sure, she was a little surprised that he had given the information up but she pretty much already knew that Youko and his partner were thieves._

"_Sure, I guess…okay. So, when Youko got tired of fighting all those stupid guards, he bound them all with vines and he and Kuronue slipped past the barrier. There were lots of spells protecting the artifact and they spent nearly half a day getting past them all. But they eventually came back with the artifact, though they didn't go out on a job for a long time after that."_

"_Well, they must be very good at what they do, to still be alive after stuff like that." Kagome mused, a small smile playing about her lips._

"_Yeah! Youko's the best!" Shippo and Kiro cheered in unison._

"_Well," Kagome laughed, "it seems as though you guys are big fans of Youko-sama's. So, now that story time is over, do you two want to go outside with me?"_

"_But, Kagome…the old miko said that you should stay in bed." Kiro replied, not wanting her to strain herself._

_Kagome's smile widened, "But I'll have you and Shippo to take care of me! So, what do you say?"_

"_Let's go!" Shippo cried, pumping his little fist in the air like he had seen Kagome do before._

_**oOo**_

Youko and Kuronue were running below the neko-mata that Sango and Miroku were riding on, both looking forward to spilling the miko's blood for holding Kiro. It seemed as though they were headed for a village, if the rank smell was anything to go by, which would cause many problems. If they attempted to kill the miko inside the village they were bound to be attacked by the villagers, and Kiro would most likely get hurt as well. They would work something out, they always did, especially when they were in a pinch.

"Please keep in mind," Miroku called down to them, "the village is quite protective of Kagome-sama, I would very much recommend you refrain from violence!"

Youko gave a nod, though he was certain that the monk hadn't seen it. Of _course _the village was protective of their miko, it would only make sense to protect the one who can protect _them_. It looked like they had arrived, Kirara was coming closer to the ground and Kuronue could hear the sounds of the people. The smells coming from the village sickened Youko and he could only imagine how poor Kiro was dealing with it. Though, the kit was still young, his senses weren't quite as developed as his own were so perhaps he wasn't bothered as much. Youko could only hope that was the case.

Kirara landed on the out-skirts of the village and transformed back into her smaller size, leaping into Sango's arms.

Sango turned around to face the youkai, she gave a sigh and began to bite out an apology, "I am sorry for how I acted earlier, I am a demon-slayer and it is in my nature to not trust a youkai and Kagome is a very special person, I will not let her be harmed in any way. If you could accept my apology I would be grateful."

Kuronue and Youko were both shocked when she even gave a small bow to accompany her apology, what kind of demon-slayer apologized to a youkai?

"We accept your apology slayer." Youko replied, watching her straighten from what must have been a humiliating position for her.

She gave them a thankful nod and a small smile, "Now, let's go find Kagome and solve this problem once and for all."

Miroku began to led them toward a hut which smelled of many herbs, it was most likely a miko's hut. The scents of Kiro and the miko lingered there, but they were not. Only an old miko, with one eye, sat inside.

"Kaede-sama, do you know where Kagome-sama went?" Miroku asked politely.

"Aye, she left with the boys so that they could play out by the well." She gave a crinkled smile, "Those kits are so very fond of her, you'd think she was their mother."

"Yes, she does seem to have a way with them, doesn't she? Thank you very much, Kaede-sama." Miroku then led the small group out of the hut and off toward the well.

As they drew closer all four could hear the squeals and cries coming from up ahead and Youko immediately ran toward them. He could tell Kiro was up ahead, along with the miko and the other kit and it sounded like Kiro was calling out for help.

Bounding forward, Youko drew his whip and struck out in the distance, not quite able to distinguish what was going on. One figure seemed to be on top of the other while another was sitting in the grass not too far from the action. As his whip drew closer the figure in the grass rose to its feet and threw itself onto the other two with a cry of,

"Look out!"

It was a woman's voice and that was when Youko drew close enough to see the features of each individual. The two figures that had been on the ground were Kiro and another kit and it was obvious enough that they had just been playing and the woman on top of them with a few new scratches on her back had to be the miko, Kagome.

After he called back his whip, the others arrived and Kagome came at them.

"What the Hell were you thinking? You could have killed them! I should purify to the lowest level of Hell for attacking innocent children!"

'_Even with her arm in a sling, Kagome-sama is still very scary.'_

"Kagome! Kaede-sama told us that you were out here!" Sango exclaimed, her face lighting up but then it suddenly went dark, "How could you come out here when you can't protect yourself! You could have been attacked! And where's InuYasha?"

Kagome giggled, her friends were so caring, "I'm fine enough to be out here Sango, besides, Shippo and Kiro wanted to play. And InuYasha…well, he had been chasing Shippo in the forest and I suppose he still is. Shippo multiplied himself so he could keep InuYasha busy and come visit me." She explained when she saw the confused look on her friends' faces.

"So, who are you two?" She asked with a smile, looking at Youko and Kuronue.

They didn't know what to say at first. _This_ was the powerful miko Kagome? She looked so…_innocent_ and so delicate that they had a hard time believing that she was trying to use Kiro to get to them. And she had asked them who they were, didn't she already know?

Stepping forward, Youko introduced himself, "I am Youko Kurama and this is Kuronue."

Her face lit up in recognition and Youko grew tense, perhaps she hadn't known what they looked like.

"It's very nice to meet you Youko-sama, Kuronue-sama." She bowed to both of them, "Kiro was telling me the most amazing things about you! He'll be so glad that you're here! Let me get him!"

Youko was still on the defensive, prepared to attack the woman if need be, something didn't quite fit. Why wasn't she trying to purify them both into oblivion? Sure, she had made a threat similar to that only moments ago, but that had been when he had nearly killed the kits. He watched her jog back toward the well where the two kits were sitting, obviously very curious about what was going on. He saw the scratches on her back through her now-torn shirt and felt a little guilty.

He watched as she pointed in their direction and seemed to explain what was going on. Both kits looked in their direction before leaping off the lip of the well and onto Kagome. He saw her wince but she didn't do anything to make them move, it seemed that she would suffer to see them happy.

'_How is this the miko that is out for my life?'_

"Now do you see? Kagome isn't the person you're looking for, she's entirely too good to hurt someone." Sango whispered before going to meet Kagome halfway and picking Shippo off of her back.

"Youko!" Kiro cried, launching himself out of Kagome's uninjured arm and straight into his chest.

Kagome nearly lost her balance and fell to the ground, but Youko reached out with his free hand and grabbed her wrist, keeping her steady.

"Ah…thank you Youko-sama." She blushed and looked away, her heart was thumping rather loudly in her chest.

"Youko, I missed you!" Kiro announced, burying his face deep into Youko's tunic, inhaling the scent that he had been deprived of for too long.

"Hey, what about me?" Kuronue asked in a faux saddened manner.

Kiro, believing that he was truly upset, hopped into his arms and snuggled against him, "Aww…I missed you too Kuronue."

Shippo watched the interaction and his heart clenched painfully. Kiro had been reunited with the youkai he considered family and Shippo could never have that. Kagome, as if sensing Shippo's pain, easily took him back from Sango and held him close. Sango and Miroku, relieved to know that the danger to Kagome was now diminished, began the trek back to Kaede's hut.

"Miroku?" Kagome called, waiting for the monk to turn around, "If InuYasha comes your way looking for me, don't tell him where I am, alright? I really don't want to hear him yelling at me all afternoon."

"Certainly Kagome-sama." He jogged to catch up to Sango and then, just as they were out of distance, his hand gave a twitch.

"_HENTAI!"_

Kagome shook her head with a smile, "I don't know about him sometimes…"

Shippo was watching Youko from his comfortable position snuggled in the crook of Kagome's arm and wondered why his face seemed so confused. He looked completely puzzled.

"Miko-_sama_," Youko stressed the –sama, he was not used to referring to someone in such a manner, "would it be a problem for me to speak with you alone?"

"Not at all Youko-sama. And, please, call me Kagome." She smiled and looked down at Shippo, "Do you mind Ship?"

Shippo wanted to say that he did mind, that he wanted to stay with her, but he couldn't deny her anything when she looked at him with that smile. Smiling back up at her, he scrambled out of her grasp and stood beside her, giving Youko a small glare. Youko nearly laughed at that. The kit meant to threaten _him_?

"Uhm…Kuronue-sama? I know that I just met you and all but, would you mind watching Shippo while I talk with Youko-sama?" Kagome asked, twirling a small lock of hair with her finger nervously.

"Of course not, what's one extra kit?" He said, not worried at all about how to handle two feisty kits.

"A handful of trouble if you're not careful." She giggled, grabbing Youko's hand and leading him off to the well.

When they stopped, Kagome realized that she was holding his hand and dropped it, "I'm sorry, I'm just so used to doing that with InuYasha that I-"

"It's fine."

Kagome blushed, realizing that she had begun to ramble, "So, what is it that you need to talk with me about, Youko-sama?" She took a seat on the lip of the well and waited.

"Whatever tactic you are using, it will not work." He watched as she frowned. Absently he noted that she was much prettier when she smiled.

"I do not understand Youko-sama, what are you talking about?" Kagome was completely confused.

"You were using Kiro to get to me and now you are playing as though you don't want me dead. I must admit, asking for our names had thrown me off for a moment." Youko was looking her over with emotionless eyes, "Do you have some way of tracking Kiro so that he'll lead you to him so you can kill me?"

"_Excuse me_ Youko-_sama_, but I am not out to _kill _anyone! How dare you imply such a thing! Where on earth would you get such an idea? Why would I want you dead in the first place?"

Well, that pretty much shot him down.

"I don't know why you would want me dead, but many do so why wouldn't you?" He threw the question at her, uncertain of where this was headed.

Kagome stood, growing very angry, "Even _if _I wanted you dead- and I said _if _because I don't- I wouldn't use a child to get to you! And- oh darn it!" She couldn't hold back any longer, his ears were just too tempting!

Youko stood in utter disbelief as the woman who had been yelling at him only a moment ago was now latched onto one of his ears and rubbing it. It felt divine but, before he gave in to her touch, he pulled away.

"How _dare _you touch me!" She could have purified him while she was touching his ears and he wouldn't have been able to get away.

"I'm very sorry, it's a compulsion of mine…" Her fingers twitched and she clutched her hand in the material of her skirt.

His lips twitched, he was going to laugh if he didn't control himself, it was rather amusing. Deciding to tease her, he flicked an ear and watched her grip tighten.

"Stop that! If you don't want me to touch you then don't be so tempting!" She cried out, fighting her urge to stroke his ears.

This little miko was proving to be everything he _hadn't _expected. She denied holding Kiro hostage, she seemed far too innocent to do such a thing anyway, and she hadn't purified him or attempted to. He would leave her alone for now, but he would not hesitate to kill her should their paths cross in battle.

"I apologize for throwing accusations at you, I am unaccustomed to not being threatened by someone. I do believe that we will take our leave." Youko gave a nod of the head and turned on his heel.

"Oh, wait!" Kagome pulled off one of the necklaces she was wearing, while Youko watched curiously.

"Here. Kiro had this in his hand when I found him, he said that he stole it from a group of youkai and he seemed very hopeful that you would be proud of him." She held it out and he took it, his deadly claws grazing her fine skin.

"_You wench! What the fuck do you think you're doing?"_

"Oh no!" Kagome groaned, "This is all I need right now! I thought Miroku was going to keep him away!" She whined to herself, forgetting for the moment that Youko was there.

"What the Hell are you giving this kitsune a Shikon-no-Kakera for?" InuYasha demanded as he landed right in front of her.

"That was Kiro's shard! I'm not going to keep it when he found it himself!" Kagome shouted in his face. InuYasha just seemed to push her buttons all the time.

"Then I just have to kill the little bugger and this kitsune as well." He cracked his knuckles and turned toward Youko.

"Well, have at me then." Youko taunted, tucking the Shikon-no-Kakera into his tunic.

"InuYasha…SIT BOY!"

Youko watched, a smile gracing his features, as InuYasha plummeted to the ground face first.

"What the Hell?" InuYasha said, his voice muffled by the dirt.

Kagome stepped around him and stood before Youko, "I was going to warn you before InuYasha showed up that I may be giving you the shard now, but I will have to get it back from you. Kiro already knows about it and he was upset at first but I promised him that his shard would be one of the last I collect."

"Why do _you _collect these shards?" Youko inquired, seeing InuYasha struggling to get up out of the corner of his eye.

"It's my responsibility. Now, you should really hurry up and leave because I can't keep InuYasha eating dirt forever."

"Goodbye little miko."

'_We will meet again soon…I guarantee it. You are far too interesting to leave alone. Now, to find this Naraku character and have a little __**talk**__ with him.'_

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho**

_A/N: Small touch-ups here and there as I move them from one account to the other._

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

_Summary: _Kagome, woken by Miroku, senses a Shikon shard and runs off to get it, rescuing a small youkai boy in the process. She plans on helping him back to his group, listening to him go on about his group and their wonderful leader, she can't help but be curious.

_**oOo**_

Of course, because Kagome had let Youko get away with the shard, there was no way that she was going to hear the end of it from InuYasha. As soon as he was up off the ground, he was in her face, shouting and cursing for all of Japan to hear. He continued to rage as she walked back to the village, making her blush in embarrassment as all the villagers heard InuYasha degrade her openly. Once they were inside Kaede's hut with the others, Kagome finally grew tired of his continual attitude.

"Just SHUT UP InuYasha!" She screamed, her good hand clenched in her hair in frustration.

It seemed that the entire village had gone silent, surprised by the harsh command made by the sweet little miko.

"Yelling at me is not going to change what I did and, I swear to all that is holy, if you say another word to me or about me for the rest of the day, I will make you eat so much dirt that you won't know which way is up!" She threatened, eyes growing dark with her increasing anger.

InuYasha plopped down onto the ground, crossing his legs and his arms, "Feh. Stupid bitch."

"THAT'S IT!" She screeched, rising to her feet like a woman possessed,

_"!"_

_**oOo**_

Kuronue's ear twitched and he glanced over his shoulder at Youko, "Hey, did you hear that?"

Tilting his head, Youko frowned, "No, but I don't have hearing as advanced as yours."

"Hmm."

"Hey Youko?" Kiro began, his voice low because he was quite close to Youko's ear from his position on his back.

"What is it, little kit?" Youko flicked an ear in Kiro's direction, alerting him that he was indeed listening.

"I was just wondering where the others were. Are they out on a job?" Kiro's ignorance of the final associations with the other three members of Youko's thieving gang was rather unfortunate.

"Ahh…they got themselves into quite a bit of trouble. You will not be seeing them again." Kuronue answered for his partner, seeing the flash of panic in his eyes.

"Oh." His little ears drooped, he knew what that meant.

"Why don't you take a rest Kiro? It's been a rather trying day for you, I imagine." Youko suggested, feeling the kit yawn.

"Okay…"

They continued in silence for a little while after that, Youko and Kuronue waiting for Kiro to fall asleep before they started talking again.

"So, Youko, what did the pretty little miko have to say about taking Kiro?"

Youko's voice was low and hard, "She had no ill intentions. We had been lied to Kuronue."

"Well shit. Why'd Naraku do that? Now we're going to have to kill him." Kuronue shot Youko a deadly grin.

Youko gave a nod, "And, while I have no problem destroying someone who dares to try and trick us into doing his dirty work, I have to wonder why he wanted that miko dead in the first place."

"That is a curious thing. While she is odd for a miko, she doesn't exactly seem the type to have associated with this Naraku character. Perhaps she killed his mate or something." Kuronue was enjoying himself immensely, and the pursuit for answers had only just begun.

"Perhaps. But why would he not go after her himself? It seems to be a cold victory if you send another youkai to eliminate your mate's murderer. Something does not fit…there is a lot more to this than what we see on the surface. I think that this may have something to do with why Naraku wanted the miko dead." Youko lifted the shard around his neck up for Kuronue to see.

Kuronue frowned, "What is that?"

"The hanyou called it a 'Shikon no Kakera.' I'm not quite sure what it is, though I can feel its power calling to me." Youko's lips gave a quirk, "it's almost as if it's trying to seduce me."

"We will have to keep our ears open for anything to do with the Shikon no Kakera…I believe we may have missed something when ventured to the Continent."

"Ahh…we may have missed out on the beginning of something, but this is most certainly not over. I can feel it." Youko tucked the shard back inside his tunic.

It was now growing dark and the kit was already sleeping, so Youko and Kuronue decided that now was a good time to stop and allow the boy to rest. They took up residence in the branches of a rather large tree with plenty of leaves to protect them, should it rain. Youko sat back against the trunk after shifting Kiro to his lap and looked over at his partner.

"Do you think Kiro would know anything about this Shikon business? He did travel with the miko for fourteen days; perhaps he learned something during his time with her."

"Hmm…perhaps. Now, if you don't mind, I think that you should get some sleep. I will take first shift tonight and wake you up in a couple of hours." Kuronue gave him an almost stern, fatherly look that Youko couldn't help but smile at.

"Fine, fine. Goodnight Kuronue." He said as he closed his eyes and grew comfortable up against the soft bark of the tree.

"'Night Youko."

_**oOo**_

_Early morning, the next day..._

_"_Hey Kagome-chan!" Sango jogged forward a bit to catch up with her friend.

Kagome turned her head and flashed Sango a bright smile, "Hey Sango, what's up?"

Sango gave a puzzled look at Kagome's futuristic expression but said nothing on the matter. Instead, she asked, "How is your arm feeling?"

"Much better! It doesn't hurt at all…except for when I try to draw my bow, that is."

Sango smiled, "I'm glad that you're doing better…I was really worried." She admitted, giving a slight blush.

Kagome reached out and gave Sango's shoulder a pat with her good hand, "I'm very lucky to have such good friends that care so very much."

She stiffened for a brief moment, sensing a youkai approaching, but she relaxed when she heard the tale-tell voice of Kouga ring through the air. Though she did enjoy the ookami's company on occasion, he was rather pushy and tended to get on InuYasha's nerves very easily. With a sigh, she struggled to keep her smile from fading as Kouga came into the clearing, a toothy grin on his face.

"Kagooooooooommmmeeeeeee!" Kouga called, dust flying up around him as he came sliding to a stop before her.

"Hello Kouga-kun! It's nice to see you again." Kagome greeted politely, analyzing everything she did to make sure she didn't lead the poor fellow on in his delusions of taking her as his mate.

"What the hell are you doing here, ookami!" InuYasha demanded, brandishing Tessaiga as he leapt in front of Kagome.

"I caught wind of Kagome and decided to come by and see my woman!" Kouga winked at Kagome who was peeking around InuYasha, and then he frowned.

"What happened to her arm?"

Guilt flashed through InuYasha's eyes for a brief second, too fast to be caught by Kouga, before he huffed, "What's it to ya? It's not like she's your mate!"

"Well she sure as hell ain't yours, dog-breath!" Kouga retaliated, which spurned InuYasha to attack.

"InuYasha! Osuwari!" Kagome shouted, stepping away from him, "And Kouga-kun! Stop provoking InuYasha! It's so immature of you!" Kagome's eyes were fiery and her miko ki began to build up, giving the air a slight charge.

"Now, I hurt my arm in a fight with a youkai. These things happen and under no circumstances is it anybody's fault but my own. Understood?" Kagome eyed the two of them carefully.

"Keh! Of course, it was your fault, stupid wench! Who else's would it be?" InuYasha said as he got up from his hole in the ground and turned away from her, arms crossed.

"Yours, you damn hanyou! You're supposed to be her protector! I'm tired of you not taking proper care of my woman! From now on I will travel with this group to ensure Kagome's safety."

_"What?"_ Sango, Miroku and Shippo cried, looking to InuYasha to see him explode.

"Like hell you are! Just get back to your little followers and stay the hell away from us!"

Kagome stood off to the side, pondering Kouga's statement. While she may not have liked the idea of having Kouga around all the time, he could be a great asset to hunting down and destroying Naraku, especially on the night of the new moon. Realizing that what she was about to do was really going to upset InuYasha; Kagome said a silent prayer that he would forgive her in time.

"InuYasha! I think that Kouga-kun traveling with us would be a good idea." Kagome said, keeping her voice low in an attempt to keep InuYasha's rage at bay.

He froze in his charge at Kouga, not believing what he was hearing, "Did you just say…what I think you said?" He turned his head in her direction, his expression eerily calm.

"I-it's just that…Kouga-kun could be a very good ally to have against Naraku…and we need to have all the help we can get-"

_"__**FINE!**_You can keep your precious lover-boy around, it's not like I care! You're nothing but a shard-detector anyway…I don't give a shit what you do!"

Kagome opened her mouth to try to convince her friend to understand what she was saying but he just bounded off into the forest, leaving the group at a loss of what to do.

"Inu-InuYasha!" Kagome cried, taking off after him, not getting far before Kouga stopped her.

"He will come back; he just needs to cool his head." Kouga said, knowing that now would not be a good time to say anything bad about InuYasha, "We should continue on…he'll catch up on his own."

Kagome nodded, swallowing around the lump in her throat. She had tears in her eyes and forced herself to look away from where InuYasha had gone. She hadn't meant to hurt him; she just knew that it would be best to have an extra set of hands in battle. She allowed herself to be led away, numbly following her friends onward.

_**oOo**_

InuYasha had caught up with the rest of them well into the evening, when everyone was asleep. Sango and Miroku were laid out side by side, and Shippo was curled up next to Kirara on Kagome's sleeping bag. Kouga was snoring rather loudly up against a tree and Kagome…Kagome was propped up against another tree. InuYasha, though still really angry with her, couldn't leave her sleeping in such a awkward position, so he picked her up carefully. He was going to just put her down on her sleeping bag with Shippo and Kirara, but it seemed like that wasn't the plan.

"InuYasha?" Kagome inquired, her voice hoarse from her dozing off earlier, "I tried to wait for you to come back…I wanted to say that I was sorry. I only meant to do well for the group, please don't be upset with me." Kagome said, her blue eyes looking at him pleadingly.

"Just go back to sleep, wench." InuYasha said, though his voice was not quite so rough, it was somewhat gentle and Kagome released a sigh of relief.

InuYasha, with Kagome still in his arms, leapt up into the bottommost branches of one of the larger trees. Situating her in his lap, he watched her fall back asleep with a small smile on her face. His heart ached, he was always putting her down or saying things that hurt her and yet she stayed such a good friend. He didn't want her to grow too close to him, because he didn't want it to hurt her when he had to go with Kikyo, but she always managed to make things better for him.

_'Kagome…I'm sorry.'_

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho**

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

_Summary: _Kagome, woken by Miroku, senses a Shikon shard and runs off to get it, rescuing a small youkai boy in the process. She plans on helping him back to his group, listening to him go on about his group and their wonderful leader, she can't help but be curious.

_**oOo**_

"Yooookou! Yooookou! Wake up!" Kiro called from the forest floor, standing next to a grinning Kuronue.

Eyes snapping open, Youko sat straight up on the branch and he began to look around frantically. He couldn't believe that Kuronue had let him sleep in! They had to find Kiro…wait, what was that giggling? Then he remembered: they had already retrieved Kiro. But, then, why couldn't he shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right?

Youko looked down to see Kiro giggling and pointing at him while whispers something to Kuronue, who was grinning from ear to ear. What was so funny? He dropped down out of the tree and that was when Kuronue finally cracked and began to laugh. Poor Kiro was rolling on the ground by now, tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.

"May I ask what is so amusing?" Youko inquired, lifting a brow. His ear twitched as he anticipated an answer and Kuronue, who had been about to give him an answer, started laughing again.

So…it was something with his ears then. Youko took a deep breath through his nose and caught wind of a stream not too far from where they were. He started running in its direction, determined to see what was just so funny about his ears. Coming to a stop, he peered into the water and almost cried at what he saw. His ears were **purple**

"Kuronueeee! You're going to pay for this!" He shouted, turning on his heel and glaring as his partner strolled through the bushes behind him.

"Don't worry now, Kiro and I wouldn't do anything that would invoke your wrath. See?" Kuronue held up his palms for Youko to see, "It came right off in the water."

Youko grumbled under his breath as he began to strip off his clothes, shooting Kuronue a dirty look every now and again. Kiro was behind Kuronue, giggling quietly as he watched Youko scrub furiously at his purple ears. When Youko brought his head back up, the giggling stopped and Kuronue's smile faded.

"It came right off in the water, huh?" Youko ground out, glaring at his reflection in the water.

"I guess that…maybe it's different with hair?" Kuronue supplied, pushing Kiro further behind him and beginning to back away, he knew what was going to happen.

As Youko turned and leapt at his bat youkai friend, Kuronue snatched up Kiro and took to the sky, his wings spreading wide and casting a large shadow upon the ground. The duo watched as Youko became almost rabid in his actions, pacing the ground and growling at them…maybe it hadn't been a good idea to mess with his ears. But, really, who knew he'd end up with them stained pink?

_**oOo**_

Five days had passed since Kouga joined the Inu-tachi and InuYasha and Kouga couldn't stop fighting! It seemed literally impossible for them to get along! It was infuriating! The entire group was in such a cranky mood that Kagome actually borrowed two of Miroku's ofudas and slapped them over the mouths of InuYasha and Kouga.

Now, as Kagome was heading home to take a break for a week, both the guys were looking at her with pleading eyes. Kagome stood next to the well, hands on her hips and glaring suspiciously at Kouga and InuYasha.

"Do you two think you can get along at least a little now? I'll take off the ofudas but Miroku also has the power to use them and Kami help you if you two cause trouble while I'm gone…" She warned in a low tone, looking the complete part of scolding mother.

The only response she got was the continued pleading of their eyes and she moved forward, ripping both the ofudas off in unison. Both youkai and hanyou let out yelps of pain as Kagome turned and leapt down into the well. She scrambled out as soon as she reached the other side and sealed the well with one of her arrows, preventing InuYasha from following her.

A huge smile on her face, Kagome ran out of the well house and greeted her mother with a hug.

"Oh Kagome! It's so nice to have you back; you've been gone for so long! Oh, and what happened to your shirt?" Mama Higurashi fussed, and Kagome allowed her mom this little bit. After all, she rarely saw her family.

"Kagome! You're back just in time for the festival! Come, come, you must prepare for the archery demonstration!" Gramps called out from the doorway, gesturing for her to follow him inside.

With a quick wave to her mother, Kagome jogged over to the house and followed Grandpa into one of the back rooms that they used for festival storage. She watched in amusement as he rummaged through the boxes, muttering to himself, obviously looking for a certain something. He threw a few things back at her, which she dodged with little effort (Gramps never really had a good arm) until he finally was back on his feet with a cry and a bundle in his hands.

Kagome saw a pile of cloth, white and red, cradled in his arms and she suddenly felt cold.

_'No, no, no, no, no. I can't wear that, I CAN'T! How could he…though, I've never told them about Kikyo…what do I do?'_

As she panicked on the inside, Kagome was completely calm on the outside. She accepted the miko garb with a smile and managed to carry a small conversation with Gramps before carrying the outfit upstairs to her bedroom. She dropped it on her floor and sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the heap of cloth as if it was going to crawl across the floor and attack her. Despite the fact that she had such a huge "Kikyo-complex," Kagome knew that she didn't have it in her to refuse to play her part in the festival.

A deep sigh and a wary glare later, Kagome was in her bathroom, looking so much like Kikyo that it was completely uncanny. Her hand clenched her hairbrush tightly as she envisioned herself throwing said brush into the mirror and shattering her reflection. A knock on the bathroom door startled her out of her fantasy and Kagome realized that she had been merely a moment away making her daydream come true. Dropping the brush onto the edge of the sink, Kagome rushed out the door, past a shocked Souta, and down the stairs.

_'Calm down Kagome, you're only wearing a traditional outfit and it's not like anyone in this era is going to confuse you with Kikyo.'_

With a deep breath, Kagome pasted a large smile on her face and stepped outside to go through her archery motions for the crowd of people.

_**oOo**_

Kiro sniffled, tears filling his eyes, "I'm so sorry about your ears Youko! We were just having fun; we didn't mean to hurt your feelings!"

The fire of Youko's anger was put out with each tear that Kiro cried until Youko became the one that felt terrible. Reaching out to the small kitsune, he patted the boy on the head to sooth him.

"Now, don't cry Kiro, it's all right. I'm not angry anymore, I was just a little upset before, but its fine." Youko said, crouching down beside the kit.

Kuronue stood a few feet away, watching the interaction from a safe distance. Just because Youko had forgiven Kiro, it didn't mean that he had forgiven Kuronue. If Youko ever found himself alone with Kuronue, payback would definitely be imminent for the bat youkai. He gulped as he thought of just what might happen to him and took an involuntary step backward.

'Whatever you do Kiro, don't disappear on us again…I don't think that I'll survive Youko's revenge this time.'

Banishing his frightened state of mind, Kuronue strode forward and interrupted the sweet scene before him.

"Sooo…now that this ordeal is over with, do you mind if we ask you some questions, Kiro?"

The kitsune in question wiped away the last of his tears before looking up to his favorite bat youkai, "What about?"

Youko, who had been glaring at Kuronue for ruining an opportune bonding moment between himself and Kiro, gave a mental sigh and sat down with his back against a nearby tree.

"About the miko and her group. We just want to know what went on when you traveled with them." Youko assured, patting the ground next to him, inviting Kiro to sit with him.

A smile lit the boy's face as he sat down next to Youko, "It was a lot of fun! At first I was a little scared, but everyone was really nice to me…well, except for InuYasha, but he's not nice to anyone."

"He did seem rather off-putting when I encountered him before." Youko mused before turning his features becoming fierce, "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Kiro frowned and shook his head, "No! He said that he was going to so that he could get my shard but then Kagome said 'sit' and he fell to the ground." He giggled, "Kagome wouldn't let InuYasha hurt me!"

"Your shard?" Youko inquired, "You mean this?" He pulled the Shikon no Kakera out of his tunic and watched Kiro's eyes light up magnificently.

"Yeah, that's it! I stole from a group of really big youkai! But then they found me and I got hurt and fell asleep but then I remember seeing Kagome. She was smiling at me…though I think that she got hurt because Miroku was putting bandages on her back. And that's when InuYasha said he was going to cut off my hand and Kagome said 'sit-'"

"So," Kuronue interjected, "the miko, Kagome, took care of you? What kind of things did you do while you were with her?"

Kiro seemed to grow excited at that question and began to fidget, moving from sitting on his bottom to kneeling, "We did a lot of fun stuff! Kagome took me and Shippo to swim sometimes and she gave us cray-ons to color with and she'd protect from InuYasha when we'd play tricks on him. Oh!" Kiro jumped to his feet, "And she taught us how to spell our names! Do you wanna see?"

Not waiting for an answer, Kiro grabbed a nearby stick and began to draw the characters for his name in the dirt. Though it look a little shaky, it was most definitely his name and both Kuronue and Youko showed how impressed they were.

"That's pretty good there, kit! Do you think you could spell my name?" Kuronue asked, knowing very well that Kiro couldn't spell his name.

"No…" The kit's tail slowed in it's swishing, "But! I can spell Shippo's name! Since we learned together, we can spell each other's names. Look!" Again, Kiro was drawing characters in the dirt, his face one of concentration.

"Splendid! I guess that you got lucky, being found by such a friendly and educated miko. But," Youko gave Kiro a serious look, "not all mikos are like this Kagome, most will kill a youkai on sight."

"I know." Kiro waved his hand dismissively, "Kagome already told me. She said that most mikos don't care if I'm a good youkai or not, that they don't understand that we don't all want to hurt people. But she also said that, just because they might want to hurt me, I shouldn't hurt them."

Youko and Kuronue looked to each other, arching eyebrows at one another. They found it hard to believe that such a young miko could say something so…wise. Perhaps there was more to the frail, innocent-looking miko then they had originally thought.

"Now Kiro," Youko began, "do you happen to know why that group was traveling around?"

"To collect the Shikon no Kakera and put the Shikon no Tama back together." Kiro stated matter-o-factly.

"And why were they looking to do that?" Kuronue asked.

"Because Kagome accidentally broke it." Kiro answered, beginning to lose interest in the conversation.

Youko raised and eyebrow, "What was she doing with it in the first place? Didn't they burn the Tama with some other miko?"

Kiro let out an annoyed sigh, "Yes. They burned it with Kikyo and Kagome was born with it inside of her. She got attacked by a demon and it came out and then she broke it. Accidentally." The kit rolled his eyes and stood up, moving to the stream to play in the water.

_'Grown-ups…hmph!'_

"But to be born with the Shikon no Tama inside of her body, she'd have to be the reincarnation of this Kikyo. I thought reincarnation was a long process." Kuronue mused, seeing Kiro stop splashing in the water when he spoke.

"Don't mention that!" Kiro shouted, looking something between frightened, angry and defensive.

"Mention what?" Kuronue asked, almost dumbly.

"The 'reincarnation of Kikyo' thing! Kagome really hates it! InuYasha is always comparing her to that dead miko and when Kikyo came around she kept calling Kagome 'reincarnation,' it really hurt her feelings."

"But Kikyo's dead…how can she call Kagome 'reincarnation?'" Youko asked, intrigued and confused.

Throwing his hands in the air and giving a huff, Kiro plopped down onto the ground. Both Kuronue and Youko were looking at him expectantly and he sighed, falling backward so that he was laying flat on his back.

_'Grown-ups can be so dumb sometimes…'_

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho**

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

_Summary: _Kagome, woken by Miroku, senses a Shikon shard and runs off to get it, rescuing a small youkai boy in the process. She plans on helping him back to his group, listening to him go on about his group and their wonderful leader, she can't help but be curious.

_**oOo**_

"So, let me get this straight, Kagome is Kikyo's reincarnation and this Kikyo is InuYasha's lost lover who has been revived somehow?" Kuronue asked, watching Kiro shake his head in the affirmative, "And Kagome had the Shikon removed from her body and shattered it-"

"Accidentally." Kiro added.

_"-accidentally_, and so she travels with InuYasha to collect all the pieces and the others that she travels with joined up because they are all out for revenge on Naraku, who is collecting the Shikon no Kakera as well to become more powerful?"

Youko was rubbing his temples, his pink ears drooping, "I think I feel a headache coming on."

Kiro patted Youko's knee consolingly, "Yeah, that's how I felt when I heard it all too."

"And how do you know all this? Surely this InuYasha wasn't forth-coming with information and I doubt that any of the others would just tell you all of this." Youko asked, removing his hands from his temples.

"Shippo told me." Kiro said matter-of-factly, "When I asked him why we kept getting attacked by youkai, he told me that it was because of the Shikon no Kakera that Kagome had and then I kept asking questions and he just answered them."

Kiro was sitting against the tree now, doodling little cartoons in the dirt as Youko and Kuronue processed the information they had just been given. Really, it was a lot to take on…who would've expected such a confusing story?

"It seems that the other kit, Shippo, is pretty loose with information, that's not a good habit to keep." Youko frowned; the kit needed better guidance, apparently, if he so willingly gave up information.

"Kagome scolded him when she found out…she can be very scary when she's angry. She made him promise to never tell anybody about what they were doing and she made me promise too. But…I think that it's okay that I told you guys. Because you don't tell anybody anything." Kiro said, smiling at his little cartoon, it was of him and Shippo playing outside.

"I-hmm…" Youko and Kuronue wasn't sure what to say to that. While the kit had been sworn to secrecy, he should always tell them anything. It was a compromising position.

"Well, we should get moving now, shouldn't we?" Kuronue asked, rising to his feet and waiting for the other two to follow suit before they began their trek anew.

_**oOo**_

Miroku and Sango were sitting beside their fire, just outside of Kaede's hut, drinking tea and watching the flames dance. It was surprising that they got such a moment to themselves. No one was fighting; there was no shouting, no blood, just a peaceful moment. Sango looked up to watch the twinkling stars and Miroku turned his attention to her profile.

He still couldn't believe just how gorgeous she was. No matter what she was doing, she still managed to look magnificent, just sitting now or covered in the blood of an enemy, she never lost her beauty. He loved her, plain and simple. There were no complications, no pretty words to try to extend his feelings; it was unrushed, wonderful, beautiful love. Miroku would have long since taken her as his wife, had it not been for Naraku and his damnable curse.

Fiddling with the rosary around his hand, he sighed. This wasn't what life should be like. He shouldn't have to be worried about being overwhelmed by a void in his hand and Sango shouldn't have to deal with her little brother being controlled by an evil hanyou and she shouldn't have to be so strong all the time. But, then again, he probably wouldn't have her if she weren't who she was.

Fate had molded Sango into the perfect woman for him and, though they had come together in such unconventional and unwelcome circumstances, it was perfect that way. She was his light through these dark times, as he hoped that he was hers. But still, he could only wish that they had met without the burdens of a curse or a slaughtered family upon their shoulders. And, though he would probably never admit it aloud, he was propositioning other women to keep Sango from having to bear another burden. Sure, he had been doing it before he met her just for the sake of doing it, but now he had a reason. He didn't want her to suffer should the curse take his life, if she looked back and all she could remember was his tendency to be a lecher then she might not miss him so much.

Though it pained him to see her grow upset each time he flirted with another young woman, he knew he was only saving her from future heartache.

"Miroku?" Sango's soft voice beckoned the houshi out of his thoughts.

"Yes, my love?"

Sango blushed, she always loved it when he called her that. Though she knew that he had probably used it for every other girl he'd seen, it still made her stomach flutter.

"What are you thinking about?"

"You and how beautiful you are in the light of the fire." He spoke at least a part of the truth to her, and he always would.

"Damn lecher…" Sango mumbled, though she was secretly flattered by his words.

"Now, my dear Sango, how is it that I am a lecher when I only speak the truth?" Miroku moved to sit right beside the demon-slayer, watching her blush at how close he was.

Sango scooted away from him a little, "I'm sure you've said that to more than one pretty girl, houshi."

Miroku frowned a bit before reaching out with his cursed hand and brushing a strand of hair out of her face, "I may have said it to others, but I haven't meant it until I said it to you, my dear."

Not quite sure what to make of that statement, Sango continued to stare at Miroku's pretty violet eyes. They were swimming with a lot of emotion, most of which she was afraid to name. Miroku allowed his hand to linger by her face before pulling it back, placing it in his lap and fiddling with the rosary, glaring down at it.

_'Damn you Naraku…damn you to the lowest level of Hell.'_

Unexpected by Miroku, Sango reached out, took his accursed hand into her own, and placed a kiss upon it. She smiled at his shocked look, blushing like a tomato, before dropping his hand back into his lap. She rose and made her way into the hut, climbing into her futon.

Miroku stared into the fire, his heart aching terribly. His eyes glittered with tears, at that moment he absolutely hated Naraku for all he was worth. He wiped away the tear on his cheek before putting out the fire and finding his way into his own futon beside Sango.

_**oOo**_

"Mama! Mama, have you seen my bathing suit?" Kagome called as she rushed about her room in a frenzy.

"Kagome, dear, don't you remember? You brought it back in shreds the last time you were home. You said something about a youkai at the hot springs." Mama Higurashi said from the foot of the stairs, frowning a bit at the unwelcome recollection.

"Shoot! I guess I forgot. Well, I guess I'll have to go without one then." Kagome said, stuffing another pair of socks in her bag.

Miss Higurashi frowned deeper, "But didn't you say that you travel with a pervert…I don't think so young lady. Get down here; we're going out to the store."

Kagome sighed, her mother was right; she couldn't go naked with Miroku hanging around. Though she knew that, when he was peeking, he wasn't looking at her but Sango. But it didn't make a difference, because he could still manage to get an eyeful. After tightening the straps on her backpack a little more, Kagome left it lying on the floor beside her bed before rushing down the stairs and meeting up with her mother. She'd have to hurry though, because InuYasha was bound to be getting restless, not to mention agitated, since he couldn't get through the well and she had already been gone for more than a week.

After a few hours of shopping, Kagome was growing weary and frustrated. She had already tried on about a bazillion suits and her mom hadn't liked any of them. Kagome would have long since just taken the first suit that fit her and left but she wasn't paying for it, so that meant it had to have Mother's approval.

With a heavy sigh, Kagome looked herself over in the mirror before stepping out of the dressing room. Her mom had picked this one out, a navy blue tankini with spaghetti straps. Kagome wasn't one to be conceited, but she thought that she looked pretty good in it.

"What do you think?" She asked her mother, giving a turn-around.

"It's splendid!" She cried, smiling at her beautiful daughter.

_"Whoa…damn!"_

Kagome spun around toward the entrance of the store, having been caught off guard but the loud exclamation. Walking by the open door of the shop was a group of boys, one in-particular was staring openly at her.

_"Yusuke! Don't be so crude."_

_"What? She's hot!"_

Kagome blushed as she watched a red-headed boy give her an apologetic smile before dragging his friend of by the ear. She gave a nonchalant wave, mouthing that it was fine, though she was blushing madly.

"Dear? Kagome?" Ms. Higurashi touched her daughter's arm, catching her attention.

"You should go put your regular clothes back on so that we can pay for the suit and you can get moving. I haven't known InuYasha to be so patient with you before." She mused, ushering her daughter back into the changing room.

_**oOo**_

After they had bought her swimsuit, they stopped by the grocery store for a few last minute things before heading back to the shrine. As Kagome unpacked the groceries for her mom, Souta came in the kitchen, his hands behind his back. It was obvious that he was hiding something.

"What it is Souta?" Kagome asked, stopping what she was doing for a moment.

"I just…wanted you to give something to Shippo for me. Since he's the only kid in the group, I thought that he might need something to do because it must get boring. So, here." Souta placed a package onto the counter before fleeing the kitchen.

Kagome, curious, peeked inside of the package to see what was basically a "children's survival kit." There were a couple of coloring books and a pack of crayons and a pack of markers, a few picture books and, of course, candy. Laughing to herself a little, Kagome finished putting away the groceries before rushing upstairs and grabbing her backpack.

With a wave to her family, Kagome made her way into the well house and down the well. The rush of magic brought a smile to her face but, as soon as she landed on the other side of the well she could hear InuYasha shouting.

"Geez…he can't keep calm at all, can he?" Kagome said to herself.

"I heard that you wench!" InuYasha shouted, dropping down into the well with a scowl on his face before grabbing Kagome and leaping out and carrying her toward the village, passing Kouga and Shippo intentionally.

"InuYasha, what were you yelling about?"

"Keh, that ookami wants to teach the runt more about youkai, but he's learning just fine with us!" InuYasha said heatedly as he set Kagome down on her feet.

"But…InuYasha, it's good for Shippo to learn from multiple sources. Different viewpoints provide a more well-rounded education." Kagome acted as if she were stating a fact that everyone should already know.

"Whatever! Just don't come crying to me if he starts calling you his woman too!" InuYasha huffed, taking off toward the Goshinboku.

Kagome ducked inside of Kaede's hut and dropped her backpack on the floor before she found herself in the embrace of Sango.

"Kagome! I missed you!" Sango's hug grew increasingly tight until Kagome's back popped.

"I missed you too Sango but, do you think you could let go?" Kagome gasped, certain her lips were turning blue from lack of oxygen.

"Oh! Sorry about that…" Sango apologized, blushing in embarrassment.

"It's fine, no-Miroku you've got less than a second to remove your hand before I remove it permanently!" Kagome screeched, feeling Miroku's hand slide down her backside.

Despite the fact that she had just been groped by the major lecher whom she called friend, Kagome was beaming. She hadn't realized just how much she missed her friends. Sure, she had hung out with Ayumi, Eri and Yuka, but there was just something she had with her friends in the Sengoku Jidai that was missing in her own era.

"Kagomeeee!" Shippo cried as he flew in through flap at the entrance, launching himself at her waist.

"Hey Shippo, how are you? Were you good while I was gone?" Kagome asked, feeling him nod against her stomach.

Shippo pulled his head away from her shirt, still clinging to her, "Why'd you stay gone for so long…I almost thought that you weren't coming back!" He wailed, tearing up.

"Shh…shh…why would you think that I wouldn't come back? I always come back, no matter how long I'm gone, why would this time be any different?" Kagome was confused by Shippo's words.

"I-I thought that maybe you l-liked Kiro more than me and t-that, since he was gone, y-you wouldn't come back for me!"

'Ah…the minds of children.' Kagome thought, soothingly running her fingers through Shippo's tail.

"Shippo, I love you more than you can ever imagine! And I don't want you to ever think that I'd leave you on purpose. No matter what, I'll always come back, okay?"

Shippo sniffled, "Okay."

He wiped away the last of his tears before looking up at Kagome with a small smile.

"Oh!" Kagome exclaimed, "I almost forgot! Souta gave me something to bring to you; he thought you might like it. Buuuut…before I give it to you, how about we go to the hot springs for a little bit?"

"Alright!" Shippo cried, hopping out of Kagome's lap and grabbing one of her hands, tugging at her, "Come on, let's go! The sooner we get there the sooner we can get back and you can give me my present!"

Kagome laughed, grabbing her bathing supplies and her new swimsuit, "Okay, okay, slow down a bit, will ya?"

On their way to the hot springs, Kagome passed up InuYasha and Kouga, who stopped their fighting to see what she was doing. After informing them of her plans, InuYasha tried to stop her _(as he always does)_ and Kouga smacked InuYasha over the head and told her to be on her way, that they would keep their eyes open for rogue youkai.

After changing behind the bush, Kagome popped out and mock-modeled her suit for Shippo, who was wearing a small pair of trunks that she had picked up just for him. He clapped his hands and gave a cheer, both of them giggled before they hopped into the springs.

_**oOo**_

"WAIT!" Kiro shouted, jumping onto Kuronue's back, right in-between his wings.

"What is it, Kiro?" Youko asked, puzzled by the little kitsune's behavior.

"You guys saw Naraku? Where?"

Though they had the conversation involving Naraku a couple hours ago, it seemed that it was only now clicking in Kiro's mind.

"Off in the South. What's got you so worked up about it?" Kuronue answered, plucking the kit off his back.

Kiro squirmed in Kuronue's hold, managing to slip out of his grasp and land on the ground. He took off running in the direction of InuYasha's Forest, calling over his shoulder,

"We have to go tell Kagome! Hurry!"

Looking to each other and shrugging, Youko and Kuronue ran off after the kit. Kuronue took to the skies and Youko snatched Kiro up and placed him on his shoulders.

"We'll travel much faster this way." He gave Kiro a fang-filled grin as they ran.

"Alright! Let's go!" Kiro cheered, filled with joy at doing something he thought was important.

It took them a couple of hours to make it to their destination, and they stopped just inside of InuYasha's Forest to take a small break, which Kiro was unhappy with.

"Come on, guys! We're almost there!" He pouted, crossing his arms with his lower lip jutting out.

"So now we can take a rest." Kuronue said, resting his poor wings.

"Why are you so tired, anyway? I'm not tired!" Kiro announced proudly.

Youko smirked, "Yeah, but you weren't the one who was running." His pink ears drooped a little.

"Fine! I'll just go find Kagome myself!" Kiro scented the air and took off in the direction of he smelt Kagome in.

Kuronue moved to get up but Youko stopped him, "You can stay here and rest for a minute, I'll go get the kit. I swear, I don't know how he has so much energy…next time I'll let him run the entire way and see how not tired he is then…" He mumbled, following Kiro's scent.

Kiro, having not used up any energy at all, ran the rest of the way to the hot springs, where he saw Kagome and Shippo splashing each other in the water. He stood at the edge of the water…not quite sure of what to do now that he had actually found Kagome. Luckily, Shippo solved that problem for him.

"Hey Kagome! Look! Kiro's here!" He announced, smiling big at his kitsune friend.

Kagome looked over and saw Kiro standing awkwardly by the springs and swam over to where her bathing supplies were lying. Fishing around in the small bag, Kagome pulled out another pair of swim trunks with a triumphant cry.

"Do you want to join us, Kiro? I have your trunks here with me, so come play with us!" Kagome said, tossing the trunks in his direction and then gesturing to a nearby bush, "Go change behind the bush and then you can come swim with us!"

Kiro grinned wide and snatched up the swim trunks, dashing behind the bush and changing in record time. After all, he wanted to play a little before Youko and Kuronue decided to come after him. Running out from behind the bush, Kiro jumped into the water with a shout, splashing Kagome and Shippo.

Youko, having followed only a short while after Kiro, came upon Kagome splashing back and forth with Kiro and Shippo, looking quite breath-taking in her mirth. He stayed just inside the tree-line, right outside of their vision, watching their play for a while.

He watched as Kagome called Kiro and Shippo to her and began to whisper quietly enough that he couldn't hear before they all began laughing. They all swam to the section of the springs closest to him and then Kagome counted down from three…two…one…

"Gotcha!" They all cried as they began to splash his shadowed self, laughing at his expense.

Letting out a surprised yelp, Youko moved out of his hiding spot looking dreadfully unhappy. He was soaking wet and, to top it all off, he was being laughed at. And the laughter had only increased in volume once Shippo and Kagome caught sight of his pink ears. He was practically pouting, he was so upset! No one, no one laughed at Youko Kurama!

"Y-Youko-sama!" Kagome began, clutching her sides, "What happened to your e-ears!" Laughter continued to bubble from behind her beautiful lips.

"A terribly thoughtless prank pulled by my, soon to be, late partner Kuronue." Youko answered rather coldly, glaring at them all.

"Come on now," Kagome said, sobering up some, "it's not all that bad. No reason to kill your partner because he had a little fun. I can get it out easily, but you're going to have to get into the springs."

Without waiting for a reply, Kagome made her way back to her bag and pulled out her shampoo before gesturing for Youko to hurry up and get in. When he made to pull his tunic off, she gasped and spun around, blushing madly.

"What are you doing that for?" She shrieked, hiding her face in her hands, "Your clothes are already wet, so why take them off?"

Youko, amused by her embarrassment, tossed his shirt to the side, "Habit, I guess. If it makes you more comfortable, I'll leave my pants on." He began pulling off his shoes.

"Thank you…" Her blush was fading and she began to calm down. Really! To be all worked up over a kitsune like him!

"Now…what exactly is it that you plan on doing to my ears to remove this stain?" Youko asked cautiously, wading into the hot springs.

"Oh…uhm…I have this mixture of herbs that I get from my village that's used for cleaning hair, and it seemed to work well on Shippo's tail and InuYasha's ears, so I think it could help with your ears…" Kagome had struggled with her explanation for a moment, not sure how to explain the shampoo to Youko without either sounding crazy or completely giving away her secret, but she seemed to do just fine.

"Hmm…" Youko wasn't sure what to make of her response. Though she did not seem to be lying, she was quite nervous…

But that was probably because he was merely too gorgeous for her to handle. After all, what woman could resist such a demonstration of his perfection? Youko was mentally preening himself and had been caught off-guard by Kiro and Shippo pulling him down in the water.

He came up sputtering and looked around to see that the two responsible for his plight were already completely across the springs, playing around as if nothing had happened. Just as he was about to teach them a little lesson, he felt a small hand grab onto his forearm.

"Youko-sama? How about we clean your ears first before you go to uhm…play…with the kids?" Kagome asked, her voice soft.

Glancing in her direction, Youko gave an inaudible sigh. How did she do it? Just looking at her calm blue eyes had him nearly forgetting his frustration with the kits across the spring. Had he not been the wise kitsune that he was, he would have that perhaps she had enchanted him, or possibly herself, but he knew better. A miko did not have the ability to cast spells, merely purify youkai. Knowing what he did, it came as a shock that, though it would take little effort on her behalf to kill him, he was not at all wary of her.

"Helloooo? Youko-sama?" Kagome inquired, waving her hand in front of his face.

She was growing a little frustrated with his unresponsiveness. It wouldn't be too long before InuYasha got fed up with her taking as long as she was, so she had to hurry up if she was going to clean Youko's ears. Since he was pretty much ignoring her, Kagome poured some of the shampoo into the palm of her hand and decided to proceed without him. Not such a good plan.

The moment that one of Kagome's hands encased Youko's ear, he pulled away with a snarl. Having been caught off-guard, he reacted instinctively. After realizing what had just happened, he saw the panicked expression on Kagome's face.

"I'm so sorry! I just couldn't get your attention and InuYasha will probably show up soon, so I just wanted to get your ears done before he came by and you guys started fighting!" Kagome exclaimed, cheeks flaming and eyes closed tight.

"It's…fine." Youko watched as she peeked one eye open, as if assessing the situation.

"Are you sure?" She asked warily, wondering if he was just attempting to calm her down.

"Yes, I'm certain. Now, let's try this again." He assured, stepping closer to her.

"Alright then." Kagome led him over near the bank, situating herself upon a rock so that she could reach the top of his head, "I'm going to need you to turn around so that I can begin."

At first, he seemed a little hesitant, but he turned his back to her without a word and she gently began to massage the shampoo into his smooth fur. Humming softly, she felt him relax beneath her ministrations. Getting into it, she pulled his hair up some and began to wash it as well.

Youko was enjoying himself thoroughly; he had never before experienced such a luxury as this. The feel of her blunt nails gently scratching against his scalp, the way her fingertips massaged his ears, it was so…peaceful. As he allowed himself to immerse completely in her touch, he heard her giggle. He ignored it at first, and she resumed her humming, but then she did it again.

Not even bothering to open his eyes, Youko asked, "What's so funny?"

"Why, Youko-sama, I do believe that you're purring!" She answered, removing her hands from his hair and rinsing them off in the water.

Youko dunked himself under the water, removing the suds from his hair before coming up facing her. Her eyes were dancing with laughter, her lips curled in a smile that she was attempting to hide behind her hand. He leaned forward a bit.

"I…do not…purr." He said quietly, watching her shiver as his breath ghosted over her skin.

"But, I think, that…you…do." She replied, though her eyes were still alight with her mirth, her smile was not nearly as wide now.

Leaning in even forward, Youko rested his hands beside her, now officially invading her personal space. Slowly he moved closer…then closer still…Kagome was now holding her breath, not quite sure what to expect from him. Their lips barely brushed and, just as Youko was about to go one step further…

"Are you going to kiss her, Youko?" Kiro asked, he sounded both curious and completely grossed out.

"Ewww…why would he kiss Kagome? He'd get cooties!" Shippo said, giving Kiro a rather frightened look.

"Hey!" Kagome cried, her face bright red, "I do_ NOT_ have cooties! Besides," she crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air, "it's a well-known fact that boys are the ones with cooties!"

"Nuh-uh!" Shippo and Kiro said in unison, shaking their heads, looking to Youko to back them up. He was already out of the springs, sitting on a nearby bolder.

"Yup!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"It's true!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"NUH-UH!"

"Okay, okay," Kagome said, tired of teasing the boys, "I was just kidding."

"See?" Shippo said, "We told ya so!" Kagome laughed and climbed the rest of the way out of the springs and sat down next to Youko.

"So, Youko-sama, what brought your little group back to InuYasha's Forest?" Kagome asked, "And where's Kuronue-sama?"

"Ah…Kuronue is probably not far away by now, he should be here soon. As for why we are here, Kiro thought that we should let you know that we had run into a certain Naraku character off in the South." Youko was very shocked when Kagome's normally happy expression became dark and fierce. But, just as quickly as it came, it was gone.

"He didn't hurt any of you did he? I totally forgot to warn you about him! I knew that I shouldn't have given you guys the shard, no matter how upset Kiro was! I mean, at least he wouldn't be hunted down by that bastard!"

Youko was very taken aback, Kagome had started out worried but then her voice was so full of anger that he was a little frightened of her.

"Calm down now. Kuronue and I ran into him when we were searching for Kiro. As it is, Naraku was the one who had told us that you were holding him hostage, though now I know otherwise." Youko watched as she suddenly became very confused.

"But…I don't understand. Why would he send you after me? I'm not a threat to him…not really." Kagome whispered.

"Say, Youko-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for telling me this, we were pretty lost without a lead." Kagome said, her hand rubbing against his as she shifted her weight.

"It was nothing. And, please, call me Youko."

"Alright…Youko." Kagome smiled at him.

_"Kaggggggggooooooommmmeeeeee? Is everything alright?"_

_"Hey, you damn ookami, why don't you go back to your stinkin' wolves and leave us the Hell alone!"_

"Uh-oh." Kagome panicked, "It's time for you to go! I completely forgot that Kouga was here and, when paired with InuYasha, that's a volatile mix! You guys really have to go, I don't want a big fight on my hands!" She scrambled to her feet and then grabbed Youko's hand and pulled him up.

Youko watched, amused, as she dashed about the springs, gathering up Kiro's clothes and his tunic, before shoving them into his arms.

"Kiro! Come on, it's time to get out now!" Kagome tried her best to keep her voice calm.

"Aww…Kagome…does Kiro really have to go?" Shippo whined.

"Yes Shippo, because InuYasha and Kouga are on their way, do you really want Kiro to stick around for that?"

"No…I guess not…" Shippo pouted as he watched his friend climb out of the springs before following suit.

Kagome walked next to Youko and Kiro over to the tree-line and, just as she was about to turn around and leap into the water, Youko grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for a brief kiss. He pulled away and gave her a smirk, just as Kouga and InuYasha came into the springs.

"You damn kitsune! What the Hell are you doing with Kagome?" InuYasha demanded.

Kouga didn't bother to ask questions, he charged at Youko, who winked at Kagome before disappearing into the darkness of the trees. Rather than give chase to the kitsune, Kouga stopped next to Kagome.

"Did that stinkin' kitsune hurt you Kagome?"

Kagome touched her lips gently, they were still buzzing from the kiss, "No…he didn't…"

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho**

_A/N: Finally, a new chapter!_

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

_Summary: _Kagome, woken by Miroku, senses a Shikon shard and runs off to get it, rescuing a small youkai boy in the process. She plans on helping him back to his group, listening to him go on about his group and their wonderful leader, she can't help but be curious.

_**oOo**_

Kurama had been having trouble sleeping as of late, he was haunted by bright blue eyes set in a beautiful heart-shaped face. It had started the night after the group had been at the mall, just passing through to deal with a rogue low-class youkai terrorizing the park just outside the back doors. Yusuke had found a moment, as he always does, to make a perverted comment to a poor girl that he happened to spot. So he apologized for his friend, and made eye contact with the blushing young woman in a very flattering bathing suit, and something clicked within his mind.

When he had lost his previous body and became Suuichi Minamino, he had lost quite a bit of his memories as well. He had lived a long time as Youko Kurama, and small things were easily forgotten such as people he had met in passing years ago and other youkai he had fought, but sometimes bigger things were forgotten such as lovers and friends from the past. And even events, he hated to admit that but that was the case when you jumped from one body and into a new one. There had been risks when he moved his soul, and he had known there were gaps in his memory as he had grown up as Suuichi, but it had only ever been a nagging feeling.

Until that day. When he had seen those eyes, that face, the feeling became intensified and he was confused. The girl he saw, she was close to 20 by the looks of her, and he felt as if he recognized her from somewhere. His life as Suuichi had only been 21 years long, he should have no problem remembering her and where he knew her from. And yet, it ate away at him, she was more than an acquaintance to him but he could not recall her. He was a little concerned that his memory was suffering some sort of loss, perhaps as an after-math to body-hopping. He would have to talk to Genkai about it and ask her about potentially recovering his memories.

But, for now, he would have to just have to deal with the sleepless nights of tossing and turning. Haunted by her eyes every time he closed his own, he would see a smile on her face and a younger version of her in a green seifuku with a bow and arrow in her hands. There were so many expressions he "remembered" that played in his mind as he stared up at his blank ceiling, dwelling on the feelings he experienced as he recalled her smile, her blush…his heart gave a thump and he suddenly felt hot. He was attracted to her, in a way he was absolutely certain he had never been before, not in this body at least.

Sitting up and throwing his legs over the side of his bed, he put his head in his hands,

"_Who IS this girl?"_

_**oOo**_

Youko made a decision when the little miko had pushed them into the trees to avoid confrontation, he had wanted a taste of her lips. When he had her up on that boulder, he had wanted nothing more than to take advantage of her position…she looked so enticing and just delicious. But then the kits had interrupted and he had been forced to pull away. He would have been mad, but the way her cheeks got all pink was attractive and his upset was easily forgotten as he watched her playfully argue with the two boys. But then their time was up, all too soon, she was handing him clothes and pushing him away. So he decided that, while she was so close, that he was going to get what he wanted. And he kissed her.

She was just as delicious as she looked, he regretted that the kiss was so quick but the other youkai were already there and had to go. He stayed just inside the treeline, sending Kiro to put on his clothes behind a nearby tree, listening to the exchange with a touch of curiosity and amusement. He wanted to know more about this miko and the group, what was her relationship to these other youkai and just what did they do as they traveled? He knew that he wouldn't be trusted to travel with them, and he didn't want to put himself in with a bunch of ningen and the two youkai seemed to argue quite loudly, it seemed like a mix where he would most likely kill someone. It wouldn't do much good in his efforts to seduce the miko if he killed one of her friends, now would it?

"It wasn't hard to find where you were, I could have heard those idiots yelling for miles. Who is that arguing with the hanyou?" Kuronue asked as he approached, his face just barely betraying his irritation at the sounds hurting his ears.

"I can assure you that I have no idea, my friend. I was wondering that myself. The group has intrigued me, especially the miko."

Kuronue arched a brow, "I'll just bet so. Speaking of that pretty little thing, did you get a chance to talk to her about Naraku?"

Youko finally turned around to face his partner, "I did. I got quite the reaction too. She'll be leading them in his direction once the morning comes around. We should also start in that direction, we have something to settle with this character."

The arguing had finally ended with a _'thud' _and a scolding from Kagome, the silence was a blessing to the two youkai in the trees. Well, three, if you counted Kiro who was just sitting at the base of a tree watching the exchange between his two favorite people. There was still some splashing in the hot springs, apparently Kagome and Shippo had stayed after sending InuYasha and Kouga away. Youko was tempted to return to the springs himself, she was quite a sight in whatever it was she was wearing. It fit her like a second skin and there was barely anything to it, it left enough to the imagination that it made him more interested than if she had been wearing nothing at all. The female was an enigma.

Kuronue knew that look on Youko's face. He wasn't going to be able to walk away from this, not until his curiosity was satisfied, "You want to travel with them, don't you?"

"No. Absolutely not. There is no reason for it, but I would like to have eyes on them. You know me all too well, Kuronue, so what conclusion do you think I've come to?" He glanced over at Kiro and gave him a not-so-secret wink.

Kiro was confused for a minute but then he caught on and smiled brightly, though he wasn't sure how much was excitement at the situation and how much was excitement about being so trusted by Youko.

"Really? Me?"

The giddiness in his voice led Kuronue to say, in a dry tone, "Now don't be so upset over leaving us again or anything."

"Oh, I…didn't really think about that." He wasn't as excited as he thought he was now.

Youko shot Kuronue a look and crouched down in front of the kit, "It's not like we will be far away from you. You won't be able to see us but we will always know where you are and be able to get to you anywhere you go."

He instantly perked up with a chipper, "Okay!" to acknowledge that he understood.

The unfailing faith those big eyes had within them did things to Youko that he would never admit even under the greatest of torment. To say that he, the legendary Youko Kurama, was made weak and felt emotions for this small youkai child would be the death of both of them. But, within his own head, he acknowledged it. He would protect this child with his life. He ruffled his hair and watched the boy make a face.

"Well then, go on and get back with the miko and the kit before they head back to camp."

_**oOo**_

InuYasha watched Kagome return from the hot spring with two little bodies trailing behind her, but decided it would be wise to maintain his position up in the tree and let her be for now. She had been pretty mad when he and Kouga started fighting earlier, so he'd let this one slide and ignore the fact that the little kitsune had tagged along. He was not so sure that he'd ignore, however, the way that Kouga approached her and eyed her so hungrily. InuYasha's claws dug into the sleeves of his haori and he let out a very low growl, Kouga was one man he absolutely couldn't tolerate. Especially around Kagome. He was always grabbing her hands and touching her hair, and he kept eyeing her when he didn't think she was looking. It irritated InuYasha, the way Kouga would look at her butt when she bent over her bag or the fire and the way he'd pass off intentional inappropriate touches as accidents.

He had been against the stupid youkai joining their group from the start; he knew it would rub him the wrong way to see this constant interaction and to watch Kagome let it happen so innocently. He had no idea if she honestly didn't know what was happening or if she didn't care. Perhaps it was a bit of both, but no matter what the excuse was he was still frustrated with it. He was watching it now, Kouga was sitting against a tree and watching Kagome stoke the fire and start some ramen. That wolf was disgusting and so obvious that it made the hanyou sick, even Sango and Miroku had noticed and were eyeing him with distaste. Sango had never liked Miroku's habit of groping people, but it was never as upsetting as what was happening right before her eyes. Maybe it was because Miroku's heart wasn't in all the groping, he was feeling up random girls just for fun, but Kouga was different with Kagome and she seemed to be so unaware of his intentions. Kouga was molesting her, sneaking touches and blatantly staring at her with a look of lust that she would just shrug off. The girl was so naïve, Sango had to wonder if all girls were like that in Kagome's time, but she figured Kagome was a very special case. She just hoped it didn't escalate too much, though she or InuYasha would most definitely step in and defuse the situation before it got so far.

"Sango, my love, I do not like to see you worry so." Miroku said, reaching out and patting her hand.

She sighed deeply and leaned back against the tree they were sharing, "Kagome is so innocent sometimes, Miroku. At her age, she should be more aware and educated. How could she not notice what is happening?"

"Our Kagome-sama is wise in ways we can never hope to be, Sango. She came to us so young and taught us so much, acceptance and mercy and pity and understanding. With her innocent intelligence also comes naivety of some of the crueler and darker things in the world, I'm afraid." Patting her hand, he pulled it back into his own lap, "We could try to explain it to her but I'm sure you know she'd tell us that we are misreading the situation. All we can do is watch over her."

Sango looked down at her hand, now alone in the grass, and instantly missed the warm contact of Miroku's hand. She felt things for the houshi that she had never dreamed possible, she was not raised to believe in love and passion, if she were ever to take a husband it was only to procreate and further the clan. But now there was no clan, and there was love. She found herself dreaming of him, both carnally and innocently enough, almost every night. This kind of thing had never been explained to her, it had only existed in fairy tales and stories like InuYasha's where things ended tragically. And perhaps hers was doomed to end the same way.

Looking up, Sango was certain she could feel eyes on her and she was right. Kagome had stopped what she was doing and was looking at her with a warm smile that lit up her eyes, like she knew what she had been thinking and was trying to tell her that she would have a happy life. That small priestess, the girl who traveled through time by accident, she was special.

"You're right, all we can do is watch over her. And we most certainly will." She smiled back at Kagome before laughing as the water boiled over and sent the girl into a frenzy.

Shippo and Kiro were rolling on the ground with laughter at the sight Kagome made, she looked so hilarious as she muttered to herself and tried to start the fire back up. It was nights like this that Shippo knew he had to watch the pot closely because Kagome tended to burn dinner when she was so distracted. But he had to admit that he was a little bit confused and distracted himself tonight, he had to wonder why Kiro ended up back with them after he had just left with Youko not that long ago. And did he really see that same kitsune kiss Kagome earlier? What did it all mean?

"I know I wasn't gone for long, but I missed this stuff!" Kiro said, sitting up and breathing heavy.

"Is that why you came back? 'Cause you missed us?" Shippo asked, lying on his back in the grass, looking at the world upside-down.

"Yeah. Yup. Uh-huh." Kiro responded in his most convincing tone. And Shippo bought it, as all little kids do.

"I missed you too, Kiro! It's nice to have someone to play with all the time." He responded, his smile growing. He glanced over at Kagome and saw that she was obviously lost in thought, he had been right to watch her.

Flipping over, Shippo jumped to his feet and launched himself into Kagome's lap, "Kagomeeee! You need to pay attention to your pot!"

Kagome almost fell backwards, being caught by surprise by the small ball of fluff hitting her in the stomach. She had truly lost herself in her thoughts again, a bad habit to have when making dinner for the group, but she couldn't help it.

"Sorry Ship, good thing I have you around to watch after me, ne?" She ruffled his hair and took the pot off of the fire before dishing out the ramen and vegetables, "Come and get it, everyone! That includes **you** InuYasha!"

The hanyou was the last one over, dropping out of the tree at the very last second before snatching up a bowl and sitting down beside her. She smiled at him before picking up her own bowl of noodles and digging in. But, despite her smile and cheerful demeanor, Kagome was still thinking hard.

She had watched over the past years of travel as Miroku and Sango acknowledged and avoided their feelings for each other, the love that they shared was limitless and obvious to all outsiders. Her heart broke to watch them dance around it, and the way that Miroku would stare so sadly at his cursed hand could bring her to tears. And Sango too, she would watch him fiddle with his beads and Kagome saw her reach out to him many times only to let her hand drop before she touched him. There was nothing she could do or say to him that would comfort him in the knowledge that he was slowly dying, the kazana had been steadily growing and he could not use it much in fights anymore. If he lost the beads by accident, if they got caught on something or he released his kazana one more time, he would die. It tore at Kagome, she knew that her love story with InuYasha was all but lost but Sango and Miroku had this chance and loved each other even in these most dire of situations.

She was certain that Miroku and his family had tried everything they could to lift the curse, and they had all come to the conclusion that only the death of Naraku would remove it. But they lived in the Sengoku Jidai, they had very limited resources and Kagome had libraries of knowledge in her time and many cultures with religions and magicks that had potential for making a difference for her friends. And she had power; Kagome knew that there was a large amount that she could feel buzzing under her skin and in her blood. If she could find a way to harness and control it, in more ways than channeling it through arrows and the occasionally blast from her palm, maybe she could focus it into a healing energy or some kind of _anti-virus _for curses and do some good. She could make herself more useful! The only person she had to train her was Kaede, at least in this era, but perhaps she could find someone in her time for a crash course in energy.

"Oi, wench. If you aren't going to eat your food, I will." InuYasha taunted, more to get that deep, thoughtful look off of her face than anything.

He didn't like the way she had been lately, there was a sense of finality about her and she was always staring off into space looking sad or confused. Like she was as aware as he was that their journey was coming to an end. After the years of fighting and traveling, they had the majority of the Shikon and it looked like Naraku was getting desperate to end them…or at least end Kagome. Having sent the kitsune to do his dirty work by telling lies about Kagome, it was clear he recognized her as a real threat. InuYasha was worried about her, she was so untrained and so stubborn, she could get herself killed especially as the time drew closer to fight him for the final time. He could only do so much for her…

Kagome turned her head and smiled brightly at him, "I'll share with you, but I'm too hungry to give it all away." She scooted closer and offered her bowl to him with a little blush.

Her blush was adorable, lighting up her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, and it was something usually reserved for only him. He felt a little smug and his chest puffed out a bit as he stole a glance at Kouga, she never blushed for that smelly ookami. But, seeing her red face, he couldn't help but remember the few times Kikyo had blushed for him. Where Kagome's blush was so bright and traveled across her nose, Kikyo's was a light dust of pink high on her tan cheeks. They were so different he could easily forget that they held the same soul.

"Whatever." He responded with a little half-smile, stealing a bit of her noodles from the offered bowl and reveling in her laughter.

InuYasha heard the quiet growl come from Kouga across the way and couldn't help the way his smile grew. That ookami wasn't good enough for her, he didn't deserve her and he was way too pushy and rough for a girl like Kagome. No one was really good enough for her, not to InuYasha, not even himself. But she certainly deserved better than to be saddled with Kouga and his wolves, he was always running around and never liked to stay put, he lived in a cave with no privacy and made promises he never kept. His infatuation with Kagome was dangerous at worst and hurtful at best, InuYasha had the very distinct feeling that Kouga wouldn't think the relationship past the bedding and then he'd leave her. And then he'd have to kill that damn ookami. So it was better to make sure none of that happened at all and that they avoided the entire fictional situation. Which meant staying between the two of them at every possible moment.

Kouga, on the other hand, had different plans. He wanted to get Kagome alone, he wanted to impress her and he wanted to make sure she knew just how serious he was and how attracted he was to her. Her legs, her eyes, her soft pale skin…how could anyone blame him for wanting to touch her? She looked so delicious, he could just eat her up. Just a taste, she surely would enjoy a little lick or a little bite. It would only hurt a little, after all. He licked his lips and watched her slurp some noodles through her own pretty pink lips. The things he wanted to do with those lips were sinful.

As if she felt his eyes on her, Kagome looked in his direction and smiled with a tilt of her head. Her hair tumbled over her shoulder in a careless fashion and her eyes caught the light of the setting sun, making them shine like sapphire. Kouga pushed himself up and swaggered over in her direction, completely ignoring the hanyou sitting next to her and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Thanks for the food, it was delicious! Good to know that my woman is so good at cooking, I wonder what else you are good at…" He lifted an eyebrow and gave her and up-and-down look.

Kagome giggled, convinced that he was just joking, and InuYasha glared at him and growled a little but didn't say anything. He wasn't going to fight Kouga again tonight, Kagome had been way too mad before and he didn't want to repeat eating all that dirt. But that didn't mean he was gonna sit there and let the ookami paw at her.

"Hey, you should go wash the bowls out before it gets dark. Take the runts with ya too, I don't want them annoying me while you're gone." He said with a little smirk, certain he had won.

She frowned at him but conceded. He was right, the sun was setting and it was going to be too dark to see if they were clean soon. Sighing, she moved to get off the ground and gratefully took the hand up that Kouga offered with his toothy grin. He get her a little pull so that she fell forward into his arms and played it off like an accident, she was the only one who bought that act. It amazed her friends that she was so innocent despite being kidnapped many times _(even by Kouga himself)_ and nearly raped more times than she could count. It was her nature to be so trusting, she made friends out of enemies and earned respect from those that refused to call her friend.

"C'mon Ship, Kiro, you guys can play in the water while I do the dishes, okay?" She smiled big at them as she made her way out of Kouga's arms. She was confused about why the two boys made faces at Kouga as they passed him, but let it slide. Boys will be boys, she supposed.

As she left the camp area, she did not seem to notice the looks her friends gave the roguishly handsome youkai who had just been holding her. They were not friendly. Not at all.

_**oOo**_

"Is this how we are going to be spending our days now, Youko?" Kuronue gave a sigh of boredom from his relaxing spot up in the tree, "Watching this rag-tag group do mundane things like eating and talking to each other?"

Youko gave his friend a look of mock offense, very aware of how uninterested he was in the entire situation, "You know how curious I am about this miko and her friends, allow me this indulgence and feel free to do some exploring of your own."

Kuronue gave up, once Youko had some interest in something it was his sole focus until he became bored with it. Besides, he had to admit to some interest in the miko of his own, she was very different from other women.

"This group, it is like watching an entertaining performance. A play, perhaps. There are undertones everywhere and relationships of different sorts between them all, it's like a fun puzzle to piece together." Youko said after he realized his friend wasn't going to respond.

And it was all true, they had been watching them all evening and had figured a few things out while there were still many gaps left to fill. The taiyja and the houshi were close, but did not act as lovers did, both seemed very burdened and sad but they did not take solace in each other. Youko did not know what was wrong with them, what had them so alone and wrapped up in themselves, but he did think that they were acting foolish to not take advantage of their time together and enjoying their short mortal lives. And then there were the kids, they were so very aware of everything and always had their eyes open to watch the people surrounding them. They knew everything and seemed to discuss it amongst themselves, but making very little difference despite all the knowledge they had. But it was good that they kept so silent and watched like they did, it kept them from suspicion and they continued to look innocent in the eyes of everyone. They knew the most and were an easy source of information for the two bandits.

The hanyou had quite the temper, though he had been quiet for most of the evening, back at the hot spring it was obvious just how quickly he could get from quiet to loud and obnoxious. He seemed to have the biggest problem with the ookami in their group, the looks he shot him and the growling between the two weren't so noticed by the ningen but the kits had heard and so had Youko and Kuronue. Youko was not quite sure about why the two were so at odds, at least not at first, but with the way the ookami was always watching the miko and sneaking touches, it became clear that they were fighting about her. The hanyou was protective of the girl, but treated her like family and not like a lover, though he had seen him look at her with longing. It confused Youko, why would that InuYasha deny himself her warm body for that of a resurrected miko from the past? Kiro had told him the story, how the hanyou was in love with the dead miko first and felt tied to her, but to Youko it was simple: that miko was dead and this one was not. He much preferred the warmth of a willing body than the cold, fake flesh of one who was no longer themselves. He had never felt love, merely attachment and companionship, but whatever bewitchment love was he did not want to be a part of it.

But the ookami did not seem deterred by the hanyou, not in the least, he had even made a move on the girl right in front of him. Always watching her, his face gave away his thoughts and it was disgusting to see, he could smell the youkai from their spot in the trees and see how dirty his hair and furs were. The miko was always clean and smelled sweet, her scent would be completely covered up by his stink. But he did not sense the respect and care that came for the miko that the others seemed to overflow with, he was infatuated with her and attracted to her. But he did not seem to care for her feelings, he did not make efforts to become close to her, he wanted only to use her and possess her for her worth and beauty. Like many of the jewels Youko and Kuronue had stolen over the years. Youko found it easier to understand the standpoint of this youkai, but the miko was truly different from other women and she was not made to be used. Something he understood where other youkai, like the ookami, did not care to notice.

And then there was the miko. She was so aware of the plight of the houshi and taijya, their love for each other and what it was that kept them apart. He saw how she watched them with sad eyes and her thoughtful expression, like she was trying to find a way to fix all their problems. And her interaction with the kits were his favorite to watch, she was so playful and encouraging and taught them necessary things to survive in life. She always had time for them, she cared for them with no regard for herself or what others may have thought of her as a miko with two youkai children by her side. He knew she would give her life for either of them, and any of her other companions. She treated InuYasha like he treated Kuronue, they were close and had no real boundaries between them but they were not lovers. They were the closest of the group, he defended her and she defended him, and again Youko could not help but think how stupid the hanyou was for not making more of her than just a friend.

But there was one thing that bothered him, for a miko so well-traveled and educated enough to know how to read and write, she was very naïve. Everyone had noticed the ookami's intentions, even the children, except for her. She let him touch her and accepted the excuses, she scolded the hanyou for defending her and fighting with him, and she seemed completely oblivious to the way she was being eaten alive by his eyes. Unless she secretly enjoyed all the attention and touches, which was very doubtful if the blushes at the hot spring was anything to go by, she had to be rather air-headed. At least in the ways of attraction and pleasures of the body. She was so very innocent, much like the children.

The group was an odd bunch, definitely interesting to watch and they only made him more curious. What could this small group have against that Naraku that they have been traveling around all of Japan, collecting shards of this magic jewel, looking to destroy him? Especially one as…kind as this miko. She did not seem the type to hold a grudge over something little, and the company she kept told him that she was not out to kill Naraku simply because of what he was. He had more to learn, so much more.

But now the group seemed to be settling down for the night and everyone was ready to sleep, Youko watched with a little smile as Kagome tucked the boys in beside her and told them a story to put them to sleep. She was very maternal, not something that usually did it for him but she was different and the situation was special. It wasn't often that you saw a miko treat youkai like family, after all. Yes, he really had a lot of interest in this miko and her group.

_**oOo**_

After a few days of travel, Youko and Kuronue fell into the routine of the group and were quite impressed with the distance they made considering the majority of the travelers were ningen and children. Their breaks were short and efficient and InuYasha was very considerate in finding a good place to set up camp every night. There were quite a few fights to break out between Kouga and InuYasha, they were usually ended by Kagome or the combined efforts of Miroku and Sango, but they were always about the same thing: Kagome. InuYasha did not like the advances the smelly ookami made toward her and Kouga did not like the way the hanyou was so close to her all the time. It obviously took a toll on the poor miko, she looked so tired sometimes, between the ookami and hanyou's frequent fighting and the constant demands for attention from the kits it was a wonder she was on her feet at all.

But there she was, wide awake sitting beneath the tree InuYasha occupied, and Youko watched with intense curiosity as the hanyou dropped down to pick her up and bring her into the tree to sit with him.

"InuYasha…why do you have to fight with Kouga-kun so much?" She asked as she leaned back against his chest. He was always so warm, it must have been a youkai thing.

He sighed, "Listen wench, there are some things going on that you just don't seem to get. He looks at you in ways that make me sick, I'd love nothing more than to kill him but I don't because I know you don't want me to." He was frustrated, not sure how to put any of it, "None of the touching that happens is accidental, he is taking liberties with your trusting nature and I am not the only one who has noticed."

Kagome pulled away from him then, and made herself comfortable on the branch to look up at the stars, "I am very aware of things, sometimes more than I let on. I see how Miroku and Sango struggle with how close he is to death, I know that is why he pushes her away and that she doesn't know how to comfort him or let him know what he means to her. I see it.

I see how alone Shippo is, after the loss of his parents he is afraid to really attach himself to someone but he has attached to me and the rest of us, do you even know how afraid he is? He is scared that he will lose us like he lost them. And I know that you have made a decision, even though I don't know what it is, but I see how you look at me sometimes. You don't love me, not like you love Kikyo, and I've known that for a while now but I _do_ love you."

When InuYasha went to interrupt her, she smiled at him and held up her hand, "Shh, I know. I don't entertain the idea that you will change your mind and all I want for you is happiness. I love you like I love the others, you are family to me and will always have a special place in my heart, just like I know I am special to you.

And, I also see what Kouga does. I see him get close to me to irritate you and I know the looks he gives me and I know he is not accidently grabbing on me. I know exactly what he wants with me, he doesn't love me like he thinks he does, but I let it happen. It doesn't hurt to let him feel me up every now and again to gain an ally in this battle against evil."

InuYasha looked at her with a new respect, and once again wished things could be different between them. She was amazing, smart beyond her years and so giving and caring.

"I don't think I have to tell you that it doesn't make a difference, I'm still gonna pummel that ookami when he touches you." He said with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest with a scowl.

She gave him a very tired, knowing smile, "Could you at least try to tone it down? I already have two kids on my hands, I don't need to be baby-sitting you and Kouga too. You all are wearing me out!"

"Fine, whatever. But I am not making any promises." He pulled her back, "Now, what the hell have you been reading so much for? It's annoying and you are slowing us down!"

Youko was intrigued, so she knew all about everything and had a plan of her own. How curious. How intelligent. She was an odd one, the type of girl he just couldn't figure out. But he settled his thoughts so he could listen in on the rest of their conversation.

"I have been doing research with books from home, with all the knowledge available and all the different religions and magicks I can get myself informed and maybe make a difference for Miroku. I even found a couple other shrines and temples that I can visit and possibly get help and training there. The next time I go home, I think I'll stay a little while longer so I can follow-up on this stuff."

"Dammit Kagome, you know we need you here!"

"And you know I'll come back as soon as I can, but I need to do this. I hate watching them suffer without even trying to help them." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

He couldn't fight with her, not about this, because he loved them too, "Fine. Whatever. Just don't be long."

Youko's ear gave a flick, their conversation was over.

Interesting.


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho**

_A/N: Took me long enough, right?_

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

_Summary: _Kagome, woken by Miroku, senses a Shikon shard and runs off to get it, rescuing a small youkai boy in the process. She plans on helping him back to his group, listening to him go on about his group and their wonderful leader, she can't help but be curious.

_**oOo**_

Kurama had been struggling with the images of the blue-eyed girl, he found that snippets and half-faded memories of her face would slide across his mind and fade before he could examine it for too long. Her eyes, always the brightest blue and always lingering the longest, like some kind of torture and making it hard to focus on anything else. He could see them sparkle and hear some ghost of what he could only assume was her laugh, he could smell an ancient and clean warm summer day, and he could almost feel the sun on his skin. But the memories that haunted him the most were the ones of her sad eyes, filled with tears, with the dark sky behind her. There was a feeling of blood, maybe a smell of it, something tipped him off to an air of battle and from time to time he would see blood on her.

It was torture, it was in his nature to be curious and to solve puzzles but when the puzzle was _him_ and the questions could only be answered by unlocking his own mind, he was frustratingly at a loss. He knew of no potions or plants that would help him recover memories lost when he jumped bodies, for all he knew they could be long gone except for fragments to lose his mind over. But, not being one to give up easily, Kurama found his way to Genkai's temple with the hope that the old psychic could help him in some way. And, if he was lucky enough, he might find Hiei there and perhaps the little hybrid could poke around in his mind and stir up some of the memories from wherever they may be hidden.

With a small sigh, Kurama began his ascent on the long stone staircase, not rushing himself up them because he genuinely enjoyed a quiet walk to clear his mind and prepare him for what could lay ahead with his request. It could be a lot of work, it could end up being painful, and it could end up being a trip with no results for him at all. That was the very last thing he wanted to hear, but he knew that if there was a single human being on this planet that could help him unlock these faded and lost memories it would be Genkai.

For the last handful of steps he focused on the memory of her face, over-lapping it with the face of the girl who triggered all the trouble in his mind. It was amazing, she was exactly the same in every way, her eyes the same blue and her smile just as bright as the girl in his memories, he could not figure out how it could be that way. Youko's memories went back hundreds upon hundreds of years and he had never ventured from the Makai after the barriers went up, Kurama could not figure it out. Was she a reincarnation of a girl from the past? Was it purely a coincidence that triggered memories of a strikingly similar girl? Maybe they weren't really memories, just dreams that were so vivid about this blue-eyed girl and he was having trouble telling the difference.

"_Oh Kurama! What brings you by the temple on this beautiful day?"_

Giving his head a slight shake at the sound of Yukina's voice, Kurama smiled and waved at the young youkai. She was such a sweet thing, it was easy to see how Kuwabara could be so enamored by her.

"Hello Yukina, I came to see Genkai about a bit of a puzzle of sorts, is she busy?"

_**oOo**_

Kagome had been dealing with an odd feeling ever since her visit from Youko, she was constantly unsettled and she would get a shivery, creepy sensation travel down her spine frequently. It was like being watched, she was almost certain that she was being stared at by some random pair of eyes from the trees from time to time. Okay, more often than not. At first she thought it was just Kouga and tried to shake it off for a couple days, but she had become aware of the fact that it was happening even after Kouga had gone to sleep or out to hunt. That was when she started to worry that it was Naraku, but she calmed down after she realized that no one else felt it like she did. Besides, it's not as if the eyes were hurting her and she didn't feel threatened at all, she kind of felt like she was being watched out for now that she knew she wasn't being maliciously stalked.

The only thing that concerned her was how everyone else seemed to not notice it like she did. At the very least she would have expected InuYasha to be complaining about it, but he was so distracted by Kouga that he noticed little else. And Miroku, he was not his usual self these days, with the curse growing and consuming more of him it would be understandable that he didn't seem particularly interested in anything less than an imminent threat. Okay, so maybe she should be so worried about no one else noticing. Everyone else seemed to have their own problems.

If InuYasha hadn't been making himself Kouga's problem, Kouga would probably be more of Kagome's problem and she wouldn't be noticing how they were being watched. As it was, the ookami was already severely irritating and on her last nerve. She started wearing shorts under her skirts because of the way he had been leering and "accidentally" touching her thighs, he was quite brazen and more of a pervert than Miroku was at his best. With Miroku, it was obviously harmless and she would even call it friendly now. But with Kouga, it put knots in her stomach and a bad taste in her mouth to just sit near him. But she endured it because she knew they needed his assistance in the fight against Naraku and she would need to retrieve his shards sooner than later.

She sighed, looking around at her friends as they went about setting up camp for the night. Miroku had been becoming one of the few that needed protected now and she knew he was trying to make up for it in other ways. He had insisted on learning how to cook ramen and was taking over making meals now and again, right now he was stoking the fire and waiting for the water to boil while Sango kept him company. Sango spent so much time by his side now, getting all the time with him that she could but never acknowledging out loud that she knew he was growing closer to dying. Kagome had lost a lot of "girl time" she used to have with Sango, but she hadn't complained at all. They were in love, she wanted them to have all the time together that they could because it was such a hard time for them to be falling in love. Besides, she would always have the boys if she wanted some companionship. They were always up for a walk or a game, stories and playtime were more frequent now that she had two demanding kits to occupy.

Kagome stretched her arms above her head, turning her gaze from her friends to her books. She was still reading up on shrines and temples in her time that might be able to help her advance in her powers. She wanted to help Miroku, she wanted to be a better fighter, but there weren't many people who could train her effectively in this time and people with real power had yet to even be proven to exist in her own time, but it was worth a shot. She had it narrowed down to three places that sounded the most promising, and she'd be visiting them as soon as she got home. InuYasha was giving her two weeks at home to learn what she could and then she had to come back to the past and they would continue their journey. She was filled with hope, it was what kept her going during these chaotic days, it made her feel so amazing to know that she might be able to help her friends!

"Kagome, Kagome, Kagome!" The kits chanted in unison as they raced toward her, she greeted them with a smile and open arms. She was preparing herself for the inevitable collision of a high-speed double hug, she had grown used to them now.

She hit the ground anyways, they got her with more force than usual which could only mean one of two things: They either ticked off InuYasha or Kouga, or there was a youkai on it's way. Considering the increase in attacks recently, she really couldn't be sure without more information.

"What happened guys?" Kagome asked, pushing herself back up into a seated position.

Of course they tried to respond at the same time and Kagome could only smile and sigh, she should have known better than to ask in such a way. Kids are the same all over the world, these two were particularly similar and she'd spent enough time with them to know better by now.

"Okay, okay! Ship, how about you slow down and tell me what's going on this time?"

"You gotta come see what we found! Pretty pretty please, come with us? You're gonna love it!" He begged, tugging on one hand while Kiro pulled the other.

Kagome looked over her shoulder, raising a brow at her two friends setting up camp behind her, they both waved her away and encouraged her to go with the boys. It'd be easier to get things done without two kitsune kits bouncing around the place and getting into everything. Smiling at them, she rose to her feet and let the two boys lead her into the forest. They were chattering excitedly to each other about how much they knew she would love what they found, it had her very curious. And maybe a little nervous. When Souta had been little and excited about something, it was usually a dead lizard or something else that made her cringe as a preteen girl.

They weaved her through tree and definitely away from any kind of beaten path, she couldn't even see where they had set up camp anymore, and she was getting a strong feeling that she couldn't describe the closer they got to wherever they were going. It was sending a strange sort of tingle down her spine, it felt like a warning and she was starting to slow her pace as it intensified. Was what the boys found the source of that feeling? And why weren't they feeling what she was?

"Shippo? Kiro? Where are we going, this is kind of far from camp, what were you guys doing this far out?" She asked in a soft voice, feeling as if she should be as quiet as possible.

Kiro was quick to respond, "We just followed the feeling! It was all warm and tickly right here."

He was pointing to his stomach and smiling wide, and Shippo giggled his agreement. Kagome's stomach flip-flopped, she was not at all comforted by the way they were acting; it only had her freaked out. But there was no way she would be able to convince them to go back, and even if she could turn them around they would probably just be sneaky about finding their way back to whatever it was. What if it was dangerous? She'd never forgive herself if she didn't investigate it. So she gave a half-hearted smile and let them pull her around another tree and then over a fallen log and toward a part of the forest that seemed a little misty. The mist was unnatural, it gave her goosebumps and a bit of a chill. It was probably demonic and she was almost certain that it was what was trying to repel her.

At least, it was at first. She had felt invaded and oddly _investigated_ by the mists of youki, and it had been oppressive until it suddenly caressed her. It was rolling over her skin in a way that was soothing and welcoming, it was like being held in warm arms. Strong arms. She wasn't really sure what it made her feel, but she was absolutely certain that she wasn't feeling tickling and giggling was not what she felt like doing. Just as Kagome was adjusting to the new sensations, the boys pulled her through a dense wall of youki and let her hands go with a joyful shout.

"Oh…wow. This is so beautiful!" Kagome breathed, taking in the unexpected sight before her.

There were stunning purple flowers growing all over, they looked as soft as velvet and were so vibrant that she had to blink a few times to correct her eyes. The boys danced their way in front of her, giggling and then rolling around in the grass, acting almost like a pair of drunks would. They were adorable in their mirth, it was as if they felt right at home in the little meadow.

"Do you love it, Kagome?" Shippo asked, bright green eyes looking up at her inquisitively.

"Of course she does, it's great here!" Kiro chirped, rolling onto his belly to look at his friend.

Kagome smiled brightly, "I was a little worried at first, but this place is so lovely. Thank you for bringing me here, I love it!"

She left the boys where they were and began doing a little exploring of her own, kneeling down in a patch of the beautiful purple flowers and giving them a sniff. They were sweet, but not over-powering, and so soft to touch that she couldn't resist laying in them and feeling them against her arms and legs. She could hear the boys whispering a little too loud as she snuggled down into the welcoming softness, planning to pick some of the flowers to take with them. She could have sworn something changed, though she couldn't pinpoint what, and it made her frown a little.

"Don't pick the flowers, please! I don't think they'd like that, this is their home and all." Kagome called out, content to keep her eyes closed as she indulged herself in a little relaxation.

"You are very right about that, they wouldn't like to be picked."

"Oh!" Kagome's eyes shot open as she gasped, finally catching on to the presence of Youko standing beside her. His eyes were dancing and a smile was playing on his lips.

He hadn't been surprised when the kits found their way to his little hideaway, it was a kitsune haven after all. It drew them in like a mother calling them home, it was meant to welcome his brethren and give them a safe place to rest. He had no problem letting them explore, he was watching them and figured that he could easily put a stop to any damage they might do. It had been quite surprising to watch them leave only to return with the pretty miko in tow, it was not something he expected. Then again, they didn't know what the place could feel like to someone full of holy energy. She had looked quite ill, the mist had naturally reacted to her and he had to manipulate it a little to allow her passage free of foreboding.

He had watched from the trees as the little kitsunes reveled in the meadow, rolling and giggling like the children that they are. He was more focused on Kagome's reaction to the place, it was humorous to watching her kneel down and lay in the flowers, she had been absently stroking the petals with one hand. The flowers enjoyed her just as much, her skin was soft and sweet to them and they leaned close to her to feel her. It was funny that a youkai plant found her so irresistible, it had him curious abou her skin himself.

"Hello again, little miko. I see you are enjoying my garden." He teased, watching her cheeks turn pink as she blushed.

"I'm sorry about intruding, I didn't know it was your place!" Her cheeks were red now, she covered her face with her hands, "I'm so embarrassed! I knew this wasn't a regular place, I got distracted by how beautiful it all is."

He folded his arms in front of his chest and crouched down beside her, "I am flattered you find my humble garden so lovely. And flattery will get you everywhere with me, little one."

He chuckled as she stammered and pushed herself up and away from him, eyes cast down to the ground while she stroked the flowers.

Kuronue rolled his eyes, tired of watching his partner put the moves on the miko, and made his way over to the kids. They hadn't even noticed their presence, so caught up in the warm fuzzies they were feeling.

"If you think this is something, you should see the stream Youko keeps hidden just over there." He said casually, pointing off to his right and away from Youko and the priestess.

"Kuronue!" Kiro jumped to his feet and launched himself at his friend, giddy to see him so randomly.

"Do you think there are fish in the stream? I bet Kagome would be so proud of us if we could bring her some fish for dinner!" Shippo chattered excitedly, bouncing up to give his "puppy eyes" to Kuronue.

He hefted both of them up with ease, "Why don't we go see if we can scare some up, eh?"

'_And maybe Youko can satisfy some of his curiosity about this miko before we have to part ways again.'_

"Oh jeez, I'll get out of your hair before I bother you any more than I already have. Ship? Kiro? We need to go back to camp!" Kagome called out as she stood, face red and eyes down on her skirt as she brushed away imaginary dirt.

"Uhm, boys?"

Youko leaned in and softly spoke into her ear, "They left, dear."

She jumped and squeaked, "Wh-what? But it's not safe to wander off, they know better!"

"They are with my partner, they are safe. Now, sit with me and talk." He illustrated his point by sitting in the flowers and patting the ground beside him.

Kagome blushed and stepped toward him, "Well, I suppose I can, if you are sure we aren't bothering you by being here?"

"Little miko, if you were a bother we would not be having this conversation." And quick as lightning he took hold of her hand and pulled her down to him, she stumbled and fell into his lap.

"O-oh!" She made an attempt to push herself up but he held her fast.

"Are you not comfortable?" He purred into her ear.

She took a moment and then gave his chest a big shove, "What are you-AH!"

Youko released her with a dark chuckle, the girl had fire and he enjoyed that spark, but watching her face turn red as she fell was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. He got what he wanted, but what he hadn't expected was for her to start giggling as she hit the ground. He leaned over her and arched a silver brow, watching her giggle behind her hands like she had no cares in the world.

"Miko, you are a puzzle."

Her giggles subsided, "Kagome, call me Kagome. I am not much of a miko, I imagine a proper miko would not be so comfortable around a youkai like you."

"True, Ka-go-me. But if you were any other miko, I would not have let you live the first time I met you." He flashed her a fang in a smirk, she only giggled at him.

"I am sorry to laugh, but you are not the first friend to have tried to kill me when we first met. That seems to be the way everyone treats me at first."

In an instant Youko was on top of her, noses nearly touching, "Make no mistake- it is not your friendship I am after."

He stroked her face and Kagome felt her heart begin to race and her face begin to flush, her mind took her back to that stolen kiss. She shivered and held her breath, staring up at his ridiculously flawless face, confused by what she was feeling. It was far more intense than what she felt for InuYasha, it was different and fueled a fire deep in the pit of her stomach that she had never known before. Youko just watched her react to him, finding it quite exciting to see her innocent expression in this intimate position, it was exciting to inspire arousal in someone completely inexperienced.

Leaning in even closer, he pressed his lips to hers and watched her eyes grow wide before fluttering shut as she responded to him. She was hesitant, adorably shy, and it only served to swell his ego to know that he would be teaching her everything in time. He would be patient, it would do no good to move too fast and scare her off, so he would lead her through a kiss or two. He wanted her to dream of him, to be thinking of only him while she traveled with the other males.

Youko ran his tongue across her bottom lip lightly, and Kagome gasped slightly at the new sensation which let him snake his way into her mouth. She felt like her head was full of bees, all this buzzing was distracting her and drowning out all logical thinking for her, and then his tongue was in her mouth and his hands were in her hair and she was lost. A small part of her wondered what she was doing with this strange youkai, another part wanted her to move her damn hands and touch him, so she ended up moving one hand and lightly running it along his forearm to grasp it close to his wrist.

His knee brushed against the inside of her thigh and her eyes snapped open, so Youko pulled away with a mental pout. He was not sure if all miko tasted as sweet as she did but it was quite addictive. He had almost lost control of himself and he hadn't done that in many, many years. He was certain that she would occupy his mind for days to come after their little kiss and he couldn't help but wonder what would happen when he got to enjoy more of her.

"I think I should go find the boys." Kagome whispered, scrambling to her feet and running off to the cover of the trees.

She was very confused, a walk in the woods would help clear her head. As long as InuYasha and Kouga didn't come looking for her, only Kami knew how long she was gone from the camp.

"Why did he _kiss_ me?" She asked aloud to no one in particular.

_**oOo**_

With a frustrated snarl, Naraku waved his hand dismissively at Kanna and she quietly turned her mirror away from him. He had been watching the little miko Kagome and the damned kitsune kissing, and she had _enjoyed it!_ The little hussy, he had seen how she reacted to him and it disgusted him, for a miko she was far from innocent. And that kitsune! He was supposed to kill her, not seduce her. It had been such a simple plan, he was sure they were so easy to manipulate and the entire situation had fallen into place so perfectly so why wasn't it working?

"That little bitch." He growled and paced the small room, furious. But then he stopped.

He could use this to his advantage, yes, he could take control of this entire situation and she would fall so easily into his trap. After all, she was being so secretive and seemed to trust this new youkai despite not knowing him at all. It would take him some time to pull it all together, but he would have the miko's head soon enough.

Naraku laughed, red eyes full of rage and mischief.


End file.
